The Pyramid of Shadows D&D 4E module is a cornucopia of dungeon environments. There’s Egyptian, cavern, water, forest and stone brick all rolled up under one twisted prison roof. This bevy of colliding landscapes is forcing Ben’s terrain mind to work overtime. This week were going to focus on The Bridge encounter and its homebrewed Water Bottom Boys inhabitants.

Encounter P3: The Bridge
This particular encounter is water-based and is right off the Pyramid’s main entrance. Since Ben has no flippin’ idea which room the group will explore next, he’s prepping the more unique rooms first.

The Bridge room definitely qualifies as a distinct area. We’re not just slapping down some 3×3 stone tiles and throwing a handful of Orcs into the fray. We’re talkin’ water terrain, rope bridges and colorful baddies.

Miniature Monsters
Ben starts every encounter prep with the monsters. The Sahuagin Raiders are a big player in this adventure (4E Monster Manual, pg. 224-225) but that race poses a small problem as Ben is still trying to acquire all the appropriate miniatures. However, it does create a great opportunity as Ben has been itching to rebase some dusty, old Heroscape minis.

Ben nabbed these Heroscape Grut Orcs at a previous Gen Con. Mostly because he really liked the paint jobs. However, they don’t look anything like WotC’s traditional Orcs. These chaps are blue and thin. But that’s ok – they’re perfect for this aquatic-ish encounter. If you look hard enough, you could even say these fellas have discrete Water World gills. This group will be a rare offshoot of the Sahuagin race…outcasts if you will.

Monster Flair
The Pyramid of Shadows mod has lots of turf war undertones to it. There are all sorts of groups trapped inside this prison and trying to lay claim to certain areas. So Ben is going to make a homebrewed gang of his own. Their leader will be “SogA the Terrible” and his soldiers will be the Water Bottom Boys. Get the whimsical reference?

The Rebasing Steps
So how did Ben rebase these Heroscape miniatures exactly? Nothing to it. The secret is in the base itself. Give this element enough TLC and you’ll be quite pleased with the end result.

Step 1: Debase
The original Heroscape manufacturing process makes a clean cut a little tricky but don’t fret. Start by carefully snipping away most of the plastic base. You’re going to end up with a thick plastic nub on one of the feet. Just trim that off and then use sandpaper to even out any excess plastic.

Step 2: The Inspiration
Ben always has some inspiration to point him in the right direction. Thankfully, GamzaTheEternal made an excellent water basing video. His insights really got the creative juices pumping.

Step 3: The Paint
Ben picked GW Regal Blue for his base paint color and covered the entire base. This particular shade also blends nicely with his Vallejo water effects material.

Step 3: The Flock
Ben likes to layout the base flock elements ahead of time to ensure the miniature has a leg to stand on – don’t rush this step. The quality is in the details.

• Boulders: Try Woodland Scenics Tallus Rock
• Stones: Woodland Scenics Grey Rock
• Grass Reeds: Army Painter Battlefields Swamp Tuft
• Logs: Woodland Scenics Dead Fall Logs
• Mud: GW Rhinox Hide paint around the large rock edges

Step 4: The Water Effect
Ben has run the gamut on water effect products – it can get quite frustrating finding the material that works best for you. Basecrafts encouraged Ben to try the Vallejo water effects line. And while Ben can’t for the life of him figure out a perfect way to apply the gooey material cleanly, there’s no arguing the final results.

For this particular project, Ben did a few test pieces before settling on Vallejo’s Pacific Blue. It matches well with his paper terrain lake sheet. He used a toothpick to apply the material which worked out swell as you sort of get a running stream/river effect. For best results, apply two coats.

Step 5: The Glue
Putting that water effect on the base is hard enough so save the miniature glue-down for the very end (or it’s gonna be mess city). Ben uses super glue to adhere his minis to their bases. Throughout this process, you should have an idea of how each mini will fit on its final base. Keep your selected mini next to the specific base as you build it. You’ll get quite flustered if you mix up which mini goes where.

And that’s how you end up with a menacing water-based monster clan…not too shabby, right?

Next week we’ll explore the specific terrain for this watery bridge encounter!

Questions to Ponder: What do you think of Ben’s rebase idea? Do you like these Heroscape miniatures? Got any other Heroscape favs? How would you have done the bases differently? Ever used the Vallejo water effects product? How do you apply it? Got any alternate paint or base material suggestions?

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Bookman, our party wizard, has a rather colorful character trait that makes him a bit of a collector. He doesn’t crave fine wines or historical relics. Instead, he fishes for the unusual and extreme. He’s a bit of a DIY caster and often needs unique components to concoct new, experimental spells. Leftovers are saved for his next visit to the local trading post in hopes of a better barter with the shop’s proprietor. Let’s take a look at some of his recent finds.

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Last week you got a glimpse of our 3-D printed, hovering boulder terrain. However, those beauties won’t carry any real RPG weight without a great skill challenge, right? Thankfully, Ben’s got some devious DM ideas that are sure to put a little extra spring in this encounter’s step. Rock on.

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This week we decided to spice up the entry encounter to D&D’s Pyramid of Shadows 4E module. We just felt it needed a little more flare and adrenaline to properly frame the moment at hand. Our new home brewed terrain will certainly help make this scenario our own – the trusted motto proudly displayed on the BensRPGPile family crest. Gather round…

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Another 30 days in the books so that can only mean it’s time for another video on the Pile’s little ol’ YouTube channel. This week Ben shows you his approach and final pieces for his new underground cavern environment inside D&D’s Pyramid of Shadows module. So let’s light a torch and press onward…and downward.

This week we’re going to pull one out of the ol’ reader mailbag as Pile fan, Brigitte, shared a brilliant Rosetta Stone scroll game accessory idea. Ben is going to meld her dapper gameplay deciphering technique with an inspirational Hirst Arts Egyptian layout (by hobbyist LadySabelle). Initiate code breaking sequence!

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Even though we’re on a hip-hopping-holiday-weekend, Ben felt you still needed a few inspirational eggs in your ol’ terrain basket. Who knows – you might be inclined to build a few of these yourself.

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Remember that dilapidated old Winterbole Forest Journal the party wizard picked up back in Thunderspire at the House of Books shop? Well, that particular storytelling technique was meant to be rather short-lived; however, DM Ben’s fondness for this beat-up diary runs rather deep. So much so that he’s decided to extend its clue-giving-life for his Pyramid of Shadows’ campaign. That decision means this subsequent adventure log entry is rather critical for building a bridge to the next module.

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Ben is making a concentrated effort to better incorporate terrain effects into his game boards. Bypassing this occasional combat twist feels like a bit of a lost opportunity. While you never want to overwhelm an encounter, a subtle tactic stimulant now and again is certainly worthy of DM consideration. Ben’s got a quick modular mud hive square tutorial that when complete, will serve as a sort of a Monsters-at-Work road sign for his adventurers…perceive with caution.

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Ben is feverishly working on finishing his custom creepy cavern crawler lair – his homebrewed underground add-on level for the entrance room of the Pyramid of Shadows module. Water effects are now involved and as many of you know, those pieces can take a painstaking amount of time to produce. Don’t fret – there’s still plenty of D&D goodness to talk about this week (while we all wait for Ben’s new terrain to dry). Let’s mosey down the Pile aisles and see what we can pull off his RPG shelves.

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