Dwarven Forge Caverns Kickstarter is a go!

Have you been living under a rock in a cavern somewhere? If not, you've probably already heard about Dwarven Forge's latest Kickstarter campaign - Caverns! 

Basic set of painted cavern pieces.

Last year, their first foray into the Kickstarter realm for their new Game Tiles was a great success and so far this one seems to be following right behind.

The sets come in either hand painted or dark gray (for a bit cheaper). There are a lot of stretch goals planned that will make this a super duper deal when it's all said and done. 

Hand Painted basic pieces.

Dark Gray basic pieces.

These are truly fantastic products and are a great value if you're into 3D gaming terrain. If you're considering these, get in now cuz the deal with all the stretch goals only happens during the Kickstarter campaign.

I warned ya so don't come crying to me if you miss out!

D&Ding with Dwarven Forge creator, Stefan Pokorny!

You've probably heard the phrase, "You should never meet your heroes because you'll only be disappointed" (or something like that). Well, that's not always the case. 

This past weekend I was very fortunate to meet and play a D&D session with Stefan Pokorny, the creator of the Dwarven Forge miniature terrain products, Master Maze and Game Tiles. Hero may be too strong a term (no offense Stefan :) as I typically reserve that moniker for someone who's level of sacrifice or bravery extends beyond what is normally expected. However, I certainly admire his work quite a whole bunch-a lot (maybe too much?) and getting to meet him was certainly a highlight for me. So, was I disappointed? Not on your life, bub!

This opportunity came about in late April by being one of seven gaming fanatics who went in together on the Grand Master Patron Level in Dwarven Forge's recent Game Tiles Kickstarter campaign (which, by the way, was a HUGE success! Congrats guys!). Together, we all decided to meet and play with Stefan in early November. The wait between then and now was painful.

My weekend started by flying out of SoCal on Friday. I hate flying. A lot. So that right there should tell you the level of how much I wanted to meet the man that has given so many gamers hours of enjoyment with his products and creative genius. I got into JFK late so I just grabbed a quick bite and went back to the hotel for the night.

The next day around 11AM, Stefan and the Fellowship of the Forge (the name we've given ourselves) met at a local eatery, had lunch and chatted for a while. We headed back to Stefan's studio to play for ohhhh, I don't know... ABOUT 12 HOURS!!! Holy crap I was tired, but what a day. We even got to see some new yet-to-be-released pieces. Highly secret stuff! Sort of. Stefan actually gave us the green light to show some of the pieces. We even got to see some other still-in-the-works stuff. Now *that* stuff he wants to really keep under wraps.... Everyone was great and Stefan made everyone feel very welcome. He ran a kick ass dungeon crawl! I tell ya, the man like to throw traps at you! Luckily, no one in the Fellowship died, but it was sketchy at times. All in all it was a great event and I'm very glad to have been a part of it.

Sadly, one of the best pictures I have. Crappy iPhone camera. Can you spot the new pieces?

Stefan pondering the fate of the Fellowship of the Forge...

LIZARDMEN!!

What strange god do these beasts worship?!?!

Great theatrics!

Before we all parted, I gave Stefan some copies of the fanzine that my friends and I put together. I was truly taken aback when, in return he handed me a miniature of a Dwarven Forge mummy - a piece that hasn't even been released yet! I truly didn't expect anything in return, but at that moment it really hit me what a generous and thoughtful person Stefan is! That little mummy is seriously my most prized Dwarven Forge piece!

Front of the mummy mini

Back of the mummy mini

We all parted - weary from all the excitement of playing, seeing all the new pieces that haven't been released yet, seeing the super top secret stuff that we can't even speak about, and the sheer exhaustion from traveling. Can't wait until next time!!!

Mystery of the Secluded Monastery

The ancient, decrepit monastery of Ivan the Executioner sat abandoned atop Mount Gunung for many centuries. Of late, the townsfolk in the nearby hamlet of Greenbelt were growing weary from the frequent sightings of strange, metallic creatures that could be seen near the summit and occasionally flying about the skies in the area. Not knowing who or what took up residence in the monastery was mentally draining and the rumours being whispered in the dark corners of the local watering hole were also defeating to their collective psyche. The fear of the unknown can have a debilitating grasp.

The time was nigh to investigate. A small band of gallant adventurers departed the nervous village and trekked the two day journey up the treacherous mountain trail. Upon arriving at the chilly summit, they found the entire area to be oddly serene. With no hesitation they entered the monastery and quietly prowled around the long, torch lit corridors. The air was stagnant and musty and although no signs of occupants were obvious, the troupe knew better.

Prowling around the monastery of Ivan the Executioner.

Eventually, they stumbled upon a massive door that gave no resistance when pushed open. A gust of frigid air from beyond unnerved the intruders as they cautiously gazed into the black, seemingly lifeless room.

What lies beyond these ancient doors?

They advanced inside as their torch light slowly exposed the secrets beyond. The sparse light unveiled a lectern and chair at the far end as well as many rows of empty benches aligned in perfect formation. This spacious chamber appeared to be some sort of pristine oratory that lay undisturbed for many decades.

A cold, dark oratory. Is anybody here?

As they advanced deeper into the mysterious room, two braziers mounted high on the back wall unexpectedly flared up with intense, dancing flames and the new found light unveiled a massive, demonic idol sitting on a pedestal, atop a tiered platform. The flash of light from the braziers startled the men and upon catching sight of the wicked statue, an uneasy feeling began to grow within them.

A thick chain adorned with a human skull hung around its neck and after a brief moment the eyes on the demon suddenly came alive with an intense, crimson light that pierced into the room - almost hypnotically. Adrenaline drove though them as their anxiety intensified. What sort of deranged cult worshiped this evil image? Who or what caused the fire to ignite? Was the spirit of Ivan the Executioner still roaming around these worn out hallways and playing tricks on them?

The adventurers discover an ancient demonic idol!

Struggling to steady their nerves, they took the opportunity to quickly glance around the room. Stained glass windows embellished the back walls of the chamber and the archer noticed that there were two peculiar doors made from some sort of thick metal located down short passages on both sides of the room.

Stained glass windows adorn the back walls.

These metal doors seem out of place...

Suddenly, panic ensued as a loud rumble caused the floor to shake. The wall and statue atop the raised platform began to rotate!

The wall spun to expose some odd machinery that was unfamiliar to the men. Numerous lights randomly blinked and flashed on the strange object. With pounding hearts and racing minds, they cautiously held their ground. Confused, none dared approach the ungodly device for fear of it placing a curse on them.

Before a moment passed, the machine began to spew forth many bizarre sounds - pops, whirs, clicks, whistles - as if it were trying to communicate. Instantly the two metallic doors automatically opened and in rushed numerous strange creatures of some advanced mechanical race. They quickly surrounded the men and began to attack. Larger, more advanced creatures followed and it appeared they were telepathically commanding the smaller ones. What were these creatures and where did they come from?

The doors opened and many small, black mechanical creatures poured into the room and attacked!

Surrounded!

A brain-bot telepathically commands the smaller bots to attack.

 

The men desperately fought to stay alive, but they were severely outnumbered and the advanced technology of these odd beasts made them too difficult to vanquish. All seemed lost....

Dwarven Forge's Game Tiles Kickstarter is gettin GOOOOOOOD!

A couple of weeks ago one of my favourite companies, Dwarven Forge, began a Kickstarter campaign to promote their new line of gaming terrain called Game Tiles. I know it’s kind of late to mention it (I was moving and I’ve been super busy at work these days, yadda, yadda, yadda…), but fear not! As of this posting, there are still 12 days remaining to get in on this awesome deal!

One set of Game Tiles (stretch goal items are not available at this level)

Two sets showing stretch goal pieces (to date)

The idea is that they’re trying to get miniatures terrain into the hands of the gamer masses by producing a less expensive line of product. Creating the molds is expensive (hence the Kickstarter effort) but once that’s done, making the pieces will be much more cost effective especially since they’ll make them in bulk. That being said, the initial $50,000 they were hoping to attain was funded in only 3 hours! Currently the pledge total is over $760,000 and growing rapidly!

The basic set includes 34 pieces of gaming terrain (floors, walls, corner pieces, and door pieces). Something new to Dwarven Forge is that they offer both painted and unpainted sets. Let your creative side take over and paint some up yourself!

Some examples of unpainted pieces

If you fund for 2 or more sets, you’ll be eligible to receive all the *free* stretch goals and you’ll be able to purchase the add-on packs. That’s a no brainer because the freebies are added for each and every set you back. So if you pledge for 5 sets, you’ll get 5 of each stretch goal! The total number of pieces really starts to add up as each stretch goal is attained. And did I mention the variety of pieces that are included from the stretch goals? Pillars, curved wall, angles wall, and oodles of other specialty pieces are just a few examples (some of which need to still be unlocked by reaching the appropriate funding levels). With or without the extras pieces, this is a great deal. Oh who am I kidding? C’MON MORE FREEBIES!

Demon Door stretch goal

Straight wall with window stretch goal

Curved wall (and back piece) stretch goal

So if you’ve ever wanted to get (or even just considered getting) some of Dwarven Forge’s industry leading terrain products, get in now while the gettin’s good! This Kickstarter ends on April 30^th.

Dwarven Forge Catacombs Set

Well, they did it. Dwarven Forge has raised the bar with their gaming terrain sets and will be releasing their new Catacombs Set (not sure of the actual release date yet though). This set looks fantastic and has some way cool new features that other (past) sets of theirs don't have. There's no "official" picture of the pieces yet, but here's one that jls304 posted on the Dwarven Forge forum page. It's from the Dwarven Forge booth at GenCon:

Catacombs Set (from jls304 on the Dwarven Forge forums)

I seriously can't wait to get my hands on this set. There's a brand new design for the floor tiles. The folks at DF have added electronic "flickering torch lights" using LED's in the corner pieces (given the size of the "flame", it looks more like a small forge or a brazier to me) and they've designed some freestanding walls that can be placed anywhere - even vertically on top of other walls to add depth to the rooms. Side note, as cool as the stackable wall idea is, I'm kinda bummed that they did this because this was an idea I had a long time ago and wanted to implement in one of my creations, but I just never had the time to do it.... oh well - I'll get over it! :)

Here's a short video clip of the set from Dwarven Forge:

The Necromancer's Cave Entrance

Excerpt from "The Necromancer" by Rush

[I. Into the Darkness]

As grey traces of dawn tinge the eastern sky,
the three travelers, men of Willowdale,
emerge from the forest shadow.
Fording the River Dawn, they turn south, journeying
into the dark and forbidding lands of the Necromancer.
Even now the intensity of his dread power can be felt,
weakening the body and saddening the heart.
Ultimately they will become empty, mindless spectres...
stripped of will and soul, only their thirst for freedom
gives them hunger for vengeance...

The Necromancer's Lair (oops! I forgot to turn on the lanterns!)

The entrance to a small Dwarven Forge set-up

Angle shot

Here's a short video of the piece showing the flickering lanterns:




(This is quite a long post, so if you just want to see more pictures of the finished piece then just skip to the end)

A while back, I decided to try and make my own Dwarven Forge compatible piece. I always thought that their Realm of the Ancients Ruined Entrance piece was pretty cool and that got me thinking of other kinds of "entrance pieces" that would be more generic to use with their Classic Dungeon Sets.

Inspired by the song, "The Necromancer" by Rush, I thought that something a little darker and sinister would make for a great look. While out picking up pet supplies one day, I saw this cool aquarium decoration:

Resin skull decor for an aquarium

I thought the teeth on the skull looked somewhat vampiric which got me thinking that they'd be pretty cool in the opening of my cave entrance piece. So I started by cutting the bottom teeth off, making a mould of them, and casting two resin copies for use in my project.

Whassaaaaaaaaap?!?

The original teeth and the rubber mould I made of them

I started by using polymer clay to shape the base and walls. I inserted the resin teeth that I cast in the front opening and added more clay to make it look smooth and fill any gaps. After baking it (so it hardens), I sprayed a grey primer on the entire thing then afterwards thought to put the shelves on each side of the opening to later add some lanterns. I wanted to see how it looked with a pathway leading up to the opening so I put some brown gravel on (I later removed it).

Overall view

Close-up of the opening

Side view

As usual, I thought it'd be cool to add some electronics to the project. I drilled holes in the shelves to install LED's and used a dremel tool to cut slots in the clay on each inner side for their wiring (to route to the back of the piece). Then I embedded a tiny, yellow LED into each shelf so that it's flat with the surface and showing through the top, then filled any gaps with putty.

Slots drilled for the lantern wiring

In the picture above, you can see on the outer left side I added a big lump of putty. Once it was dry, I drilled it out and installed the electronics from two flameless tea candles in there. I connected the lantern LED's and a power plug (in hindsight, I wish I had of made this piece battery powered instead of plug-in). ANY-way....

I began to put the individual "boulders" on the walls one at a time. As you can probably imagine, this took quite a while to complete as I had to shape each one by hand so the overall look of the walls wasn't too repetitive.

Adding the boulders was.....

a slooowww process!

I had a bit of a setback after a while. When I initially started making this piece, I was actually just winging it - not really thinking too much about compatibility with Dwarven Forge products. After I had a rough prototype done, I decided that I did want it to fit with their products. At that point the project underwent a major overhaul and restructure to get one of the walls in proper alignment (went from Chaotic Evil to Lawful Good! ;) And of course, when I was hacking away at the wall, I nicked the wire for one of the lanterns. Cursing ensued. But I eventually managed to fix it all up nice and spiffy!

Major overhaul underway

Rewiring the lantern

Aligning the wall with a Dwarven Forge piece

WE CAN REBUILD IT!

Ok, after that fiasco was done, I finished putting the boulders on the outside and puttied the inner floor like the Dwarven Forge Passage piece. I then started installing the inner boulders and got that part all done. I slapped on a dark black wash to fill in all the spaces then did the best I could to match the paint scheme of actual Dwarven Forge. This took quite some time as I'm simply not that good at painting much less paint matching.

Outside boulders are done!

Starting the inner boulders (floor is done)

Back view with black wash applied (the power connector can be seen on the lower left side)

The painted boulders (the base is still in progress)

To make the small flames, I glued a little dollop of cured, clear silicone seal over each LED. Once powered up, the flickering light from the flameless tea candle circuitry shines into the silicone and makes them look like small flames.

I made the lanterns by soldering some small metal pieces into a square-ish frame. I used a small pyramid shaped piece of plastic that I cast from a Hirst Arts mould as the top and added a loop from an old chain as the handle. I painted it black then dry brushed some other colours on to give it a weathered look.

Assembling the lanterns by soldering some small metal pieces together

I wanted the overall look of the terrain to be sort of barren and desolate, as if a dark and twisted evil has moved in and taken over the surrounding land and because of this evil, mostly dead, dry plants and no wildlife remain. I decided to give the base a more grey "dead earth" look. The teeth are an off white and I painted the gum line reddish to make it seem like the opening might be a real mouth. Is it a trap that closes on those who attempt to enter? Only one way to find out.....

So for the ground debris, I simply added some Woodland Scenics flock and bushes. I looked around outside for some sand, twigs, wood, and small stones that worked well for the ground scenery. The dead tree is actually a part of a root from a dead plant I found. The sign is made from some driftwood. I simply tied the two pieces together with some fine thread. The cross on the grave is from an old piece of jewelry I got at a flea market. I made the ruts in the path by simply carving them in the clay with a knife.

For the skull, I simply painted a small skull from Secret Weapon Miniatures. When I was looking for ground debris, I found a small, dried up twig that had tiny thorns on it. I thought they looked like small spikes and I wanted to somehow incorporate them into my piece. As I was removing them from the twig, I noticed they were close to the right scale as the skull so I put them on as horns and loved the way it looked!

Here are a few more pictures:

A close-up of the skull

Overall look

Side view

The "EVIL" sign and cross grave marker

I hope you enjoyed this blog posting. I think this is my favourite piece to date. I have a lot of ideas for more projects so stay tuned in. Thanks!