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 Heroclix 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 Heroclix 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 Heroclix 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 Heroclix miniatures? Got any other Heroclix 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?

Daily D&D Facebook Fun | Watch our YouTube Videos

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.

DM Angle
Still, the big benefit is they incite the player (and game group) to think outside the box and be creative. Ben wants everyone in his group to be an improv superstar of sorts. Keeping these peculiar items in your deck gives you a helpful visual clue to think outside the box and maybe even skip that snoozing basic attack.

Foraged item cards have all sorts of uses including:

• Rare Spell Components
• NPC Trade Value
• Complicated Puzzle Solving
• Emergency Antidotes
• Valuable Keys to Side Quests

Latest Inventory
The party’s outdoor expedition to the Pyramid of Shadows has resulted in all sorts of wild encounters. Consequently, our Wizard has been a particularly busy fellow. DM Ben never knows exactly what Bookman will find as his game antics are all improvisational. Thus, the player just writes the new-found item in his inventory list during the game and that gives Ben follow-up time to make the appropriate item card.

So here’s our Wizard’s latest acquisition stash:

• Gully Tongue: Taken from a rare cave beast
• Sabertooth Fang: Acquired from the Fineas road ambush
• Cannibal Recipe Book: Snagged from Granny Mammy Graul’s kitchen

Once again Google Images gave us all sorts of fun picture choices. These cards will fit nicely into Bookman’s character deck.

Until next week…

Questions to Ponder: Do you use item cards in your game? Why or why not? What did you think of our new cards? Got any suggestions? How might you use these cards to enhance an encounter or brew an elixir?

Download the Item PDF | Download the Item PSD

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.

The Mission
A quick memory refresh: The party goal is to successfully cross a treacherous open ravine by moving from one floating rock to another. Success means the group can finally gain access to the Pyramid of Shadows. Ben wants to introduce a group skill challenge in order to accomplish this great feat.

The Parameters
This home brewed skill challenge has a complexity 5 (12 successes before 6 failures). Players will not be able to assist another person on a skill check (so no +2s).

Ben designed this encounter for six, eighth-level players. He used SlyFlourish’s forever useful DM Cheat Sheet to create a moderate-to-high DC of 18.

A success is defined as at least three of the six players passing a DC 18 on each check.

The Team Approach
There are several reasons why a group skill challenge works best here:

• Each party member has to ultimately get across the gap
• Group rolls means every player gets involved
• Meta gamming is reduced as the players can’t just focus on their best skills

The Pitch
Rather than dictate what will be used, Ben actually prefers to present the overall challenge to the players and then let them pick a particular skill. The player must colorfully describe their character’s action and how it will ultimately help them succeed. The players always know that a great description will mean the DC is lowered by one.

Let’s do an example. The party ranger explains that this skill challenge will be quite taxing physically. Endurance is critical here. Yes – he could stop there and each person in the party would roll a check.

However, he could spice it up a bit by saying, “Nectur the Ranger is a physical specimen. He’s always respected his body. You can bounce a copper piece off his chiseled frame. He’s moving from rock to rock with great fever…never slowing down to make a sloppy mistake.”

See how that description sings and is full of imagination? Thus, the DC here is decreased by one for everyone rolling.

The Skills
With enough creativity, nearly every skill can be utilized. Here are some examples in case you need to give some hints to the party or throw out a couple ideas early on to help get those creative juices flowing.

• Religion: Real danger here. Time to pray to the gods.
• Heal: Lots of bumps and bruising along the way.
• Arcane: Need to find out the magical properties of these floating rocks.
• Streetwise: Let’s time the jump from rock to rock just right.
• History: You recall stories of similar encounters (family, journal, inn).
• Nature: Gauge where to jump for the best foothold.
• Perception: Open your field of vision and look carefully as you go.
• Stealth: Hold still during those monster attack flybys.
• Bluff: Lie still to trick that harassing monster

The Consequences
Entering the Pyramid is rather critical to the Pyramid of Shadows module so obviously the party will ultimately succeed here. However, that doesn’t mean this particular challenge will be a cake walk.

This is a veteran game group so they know that precious extended rests only come about every 4-6 encounters. Thus, taking high volumes of damage and being forced to take an inordinate number of healing surges in any single encounter always makes future gaming difficult.

With that said, Ben is going to take a page out of the classic King Kong movie. Remember when Kong was climbing the Empire State Building and those pesky World War I planes were shooting at him? Well, Ben’s going to convey that same sort of calamity with his rock jumping players by having a nasty Roc from Monster Manual 1 swoop in for some dive-bomber-style attacks of its own.

As soon as the group makes it to the second floating rock, the group will spot a winged silhouette in the distance that appears to be closing fast. Our flying fiend will do one random attack on a player (with a near certain hit: +18) and some alarming damage (3d10+5). Ben wants to pound home an imminent danger vibe. The DM then explains that the creature appears to be coming around for another pass and they must make haste!

Consequence 1: Anyone who fails an individual skill check by 10 or more suffers a claw scrape attack (+18 to attack, 1d10+8). Roll a 1 on a skill check and the attack becomes bite attack damage (3d10+5).

Consequence 2: If the party incurs 6 failures before 12 successes, that means they’re taking way, way too long to get across. They must now kill the Roc in a follow-up combat encounter and that’s not good news. This is the last encounter before an extended rest. The group is really beaten up. Surges and daily powers are especially low. This fight could easily kill a party member or two.

Ben also gave the Roc a “Bone Break” damage option which will be used in the post skill challenge combat. Anyone dropped by the Roc into its cliff nest has a 25% chance of suffering temporary broken bones (which results in a -1 to movement, attack and damage).

Game Play Note: the group will not be actively engaging the Roc during the skill challenge. The creature is meant to harass. They must focus on getting across all the rocks.

Terrain/minis Note: Ben is using the Roc miniature (#39) from WotC’s Lords of Madness set. The flight accessory is a Dr. Wizard’s Patented Elevation Indicator Extender.

The Research
Ben really enjoyed the following articles for inspiration and education:

• Critical Hits List of Skill Challenges
• The Fine Art of the TPK

The Thank You
Special thanks to everyone who shared ideas on our Facebook page. Ben really enjoyed the thread and all the shared wisdom.

Questions to Ponder: Got any other skill challenge articles you would like to share on this subject? How would you tweak the mechanics to improve this skill challenge? Did Ben forget anything? Got an alternate monster to use instead of the Roc? Do you have any fun house rules for skill challenges

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…

Encounter A1: Original Script
The very first encounter of the module opens up with a party ambush deep in the forest. Your game group will probably make quick work of the criminal Dwarven war band. When the dust settles, it will ultimately leave the DM with two Pyramid entry scenarios.

• Voluntarily touch the small, glowing Pyramid object
• Become engulfed in the Pyramid as the object drastically expands

Both of these ideas are certainly plausible. However, Ben wanted to raise the drama bar a bit as his group has been working towards this iconic moment for a very, very long time (starting all the way back with the Keep on the Shadowfell module).

Encounter A1: New Thinking
The original module ideas from above sorta tip the party off rather quickly that the Pyramid of Shadows is actually a prison. Ben wants to hold this fact closer to his vest a little while longer. If the DM makes them “earn” their way into the Pyramid via a treacherous skill challenge, they’ll continue to think of themselves more as treasure hunters rather than stranded captors. Ben always loves to keep his players guessing on the real purpose of a mission.

Map Modification
That original forest clearing is now going to include a steep cliff at its edge. On the other side of this 120-foot ravine sits a small, empty outcropping (where the small glowing pyramid will eventually reveal itself).

As the group meticulously re-examines its Barz Brothers Hoard treasure map and journal page, they’ll confirm that this is absolutely the true location of the Pyramid – yet they see nothing.

A successful Arana and Nature skill check (DC 15) will confirm that something rests on the other side of that ravine. But how on earth will they cross that treacherous gap? More to come on that later…let’s start with the terrain build for this encounter.

Terrain Inspiration
Co-Piler Gabe was just itching to make a new rock piece from his astounding 3-D printer (endearingly nicknamed the Kraken). Gabe’s timing was exquisite. We really liked the idea of having some magical, floating rocks that would lead the party to the other side of the cliff where the elusive Pyramid resides. After all, who can forget the leap of faith from the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade movie? This idea will resonate well with Ben’s players.

Modeling Time
Inspiration acquired – but what now? Well, everything starts with a brainstorm sketch so we can get the bubbling idea out of our heads.

From there, a 3-D model is made.

• Produce an initial shape
• Give it a flat surface
• Lock in the final look

Floating Effect
Our arcane rocks must give the appearance that they’re magically suspended in midair. Thankfully, Games Workshop has the perfect clear bases for this desired effect. Even better, this idea was inspired by MiniWarGaming’s miniature asteroid how-to video.

Our freshly printed terrain piece will mount quite nicely on these babies. Of course, we made sure a single miniature would rest comfortably on the rock’s surface.

We plan on having six hovering rocks in total so to ensure they don’t all look identical, we will vary their base stem heights and include a couple two-wide steppingstones. The final pieces came out really nice!

Pyramid Model
Hey, you’re rocks are cute but what will represent the actual Pyramid?! Never fear. Dwarven Forge gives us an amazing Pyramid piece from its Wicked Additions Den of Evil Expansion set. It’s perfect!

In the unlikely event that the group doesn’t touch the Pyramid, the smaller object will suddenly expand and engulf the party. Itar’s Workshop has a great piece to represent a larger structure.

Skill Challenge
Next week we’re all about the game play as Ben flushes out the actual floating arcane rock skill challenge.

Questions to Ponder: Have you ever made floating rocks? Did you try MiniWarGaming’s tutorial? What do you think of our custom 3D printer terrain pieces? Got any design suggestions? How do you like our encounter mechanics? Got any skill challenge suggestions for us?

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!

Start with a Scroll
The very first step is to pick an authentic paper background for your cryptic letters to rest upon. Ben digs Brigette’s choice as it feels rather old and Egyptian-like. Even if you don’t use a graphic’s program, you can at least draw on this background with a pencil or charcoal pen.

Next you want to create your symbol-to-letter relationship. Part of the ongoing fun here will be watching your game group slowly decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphics into a common alphabet – just like the infamous UK code breakers did at Bletchley Park during World War II. Your game group is literally going to end up with its own ancient Egyptian-style Rosetta Stone.

Ben is giddy about this method! This antiquated storytelling method allows Ben to merge D&D game fiction with real-life history…and that my friends, puts the “A” in awesome.

Brigitte actually had the party collect various pieces of her scroll as they adventured through the Pyramid of Shadows 4E module. Her peculiar puzzle ultimately showed the party the way out of the old, imprisoned tomb. This method also encouraged the group to explore every nook and cranny of the Pyramid – something that always makes a DM quite happy.

Mix in a Mold (or two)
While the Hirst Arts Egyptian molds have some nice hieroglyphic markings on several of its pieces, they’re sorta missing a knockout punch. Thankfully, Keebler Studios steps in with great fury.

They offer two amazing molds:

• Egyptian Hieroglyphs Mold ($35)
• Egyptian Gods Mold ($30)

Each one is competitively priced and they cast with amazing detail. You won’t be disappointed with either mold.

Reveal a Letter (or two)
Your next code crossroad will be to figure out how to slowly reveal individual picture-to-letter-translations. Ben plans on giving the players an initial letter or two by using his tried and true Winterbole Journal technique.

Still, there are other subtle ways like letting the group find a torn parchment piece with a single, deciphered word to get them on their decoding way. Or maybe there’s a marking over a door that contains a rather obvious word like “no entry.” How about having a dying NPC’s short name inscribed on a bracelet?

Go to the Game Board
Hirst Arts extraordinaire, LadySabelle, knows her way around a casting table. She’s posted some picture-stuffed threads on the forums that always seem to get Ben’s inspirational motor running.

He was especially captivated by a recent tomb board she built for a friend. She did a phenomenal job incorporating hieroglyphic pieces throughout the Pyramid’s innards. Ben has started to make many of these sections for his own Pyramid of Shadows 3D terrain set.

She made all sorts of fun rooms and her pieces really popped as she added some color to them. You can read the whole juicy forum thread here.

Editor’s Note: Our apologies for the non-post last week. One of life’s evil turns got in the way of Ben’s safety. Never fear – our close knit gaming community shall restore his faith in humanity.

Questions to Ponder: What types of messages would you have the party decode? How would you get the group to slowly uncover the ancient alphabet letter translations? Have you ever used a similar technique in your own game? Don’t Brigitte and LadySabelle deserve a hearty pat on the back for their creativity and community contributions?

Buy some Keebler Studios Molds | Visit LadySabelle’s Ebay Store

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.

Terrain Saturday
Certain members of the Pile crew have started meeting up for a monthly build session affectionately known as “Terrain Saturday” – the chief reason being that creating 3D terrain is always more fun as a group.

Having a loose plan and photo motivation library to draw from ahead of time really raises one’s productivity and happiness levels. So with that said, here’s our second installment of our Art of Inspiration series. Feel free to do “save as” on any images that strike a RPG chord.

Editor’s note: We strive to source our findings whenever we can. Sadly, names and links come and go. Omissions are never intentional. We’re happy to make a notation as needed (just post a comment).

Plenty of New Rooms at the Inn
Hirst Arts finally released a series of stunning photos and build tutorials for its heralded Inn Accessory molds (#57-59). You’ve got an overflowing treasure trove of new ideas – especially on the dungeon décor side of the coin.

There are three new, nifty molds to the master set including:

• Inn Building Accessories Mold (mold #57 | photo)
• Common Inn Accessories (mold #58 | photo)
• Unique Inn Accessories Mold (mold #59 | photo)

Not in the mood to roll up your sleeves? No problem – head over to eBay for a pre-assembled and painted set from Hirst Arts artisan and forum gal pal, LadySabelle. Her work is exceptional and very reasonably priced ($30-ish per mold).

Need a working man’s Inn layout? Look no further than this Hirst Arts picture forum thread by Stump.

Officer John
Ben often searches eBay during his work lunch hour by using the term “Dwarven Forge.” Even if you’re not a bidding man, there’s typically a terrain photo or two worth snagging.

Lately, there’s one store in particular that’s been putting up some amazing Dwarven-Forge-compatible-work (via Hirst Arts pieces). It’s called, “Maulhelm.”

His bio is priceless: “My name is John and I’m a retired gamer. That is not to say I’m retired from gaming but that after 23 years in law enforcement I retired to gaming. Fighting Dragons is less stressful then fighting bad guys and there is certainly less paperwork.”

Here are some of his amazing creations:

• Crystal Ball
• Foot Table
• Bone Statue
• Animal Statue
• Skull Idol
• Suspended Prisoner Cage

Quick Pic Hits
And finally, Ben can never seem to get enough dark cavern and ruined fieldstone ideas. Amazing, right?

Well, that’s it for this week. Happy Easter, one and all.

Questions to Ponder: What did you think of this week’s crop of fancy photos? Did any of them jump out at you? What are you going to try and make first? Have you ever bought from those eBay stores? How was your experience?

Support the Dwarven Forge Game Tiles Kickstarter

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.

Campaign Refresher
You may recall Ben originally created the Barz Brothers Hoard quest and puzzle piece accessory map as a way for his game group to ultimately find the secretive Pyramid of Shadows’ location. He just wasn’t enamored with WotC’s suggested module transition ideas. Collecting puzzle pieces inside Thunderspire Labyrinth and ultimately fitting them together in order to magically reveal the next dungeon’s secret map point was far more intriguing.

With that said, it doesn’t mean our dilapidated Winterbole Journal still can’t reveal additional insights into what possibly lies ahead for the adventure group. There’s real value to be had here, especially since Ben has decided to add a homebrewed cavern layer to the module’s original layout.

Pyramid Sighting
The Journal’s original author will begin this next entry with a big-foot-style sighting of the legendary Pyramid of Shadows. The description and hastily drawn sketch will help reinforce the party’s quest.

“While hiking to higher ground inside Winterbole Forest, a stunning bright light blinded my vision and knocked me off my feet! The once dense forest below suddenly opened its belly as a great pyramid as high as the heavens materialized from the trees’ shadows. Seconds later it vanished and the area around it returned to its original state! What did I just see? Was it real? Am I going mad?!”

A Breadcrumb?
Our storytelling explorer traveled back down to the valley below to see if any clues were left behind from the Pyramid’s brief appearance. The inspected area revealed very little with the exception of a strange clump of earth… a sort of tree-stump-sized hive or cocoon – made up of dense mud and hollowed out cavern rock.

But that’s not even the nutty part. Inside the mud hive were fresh skeletal remains of rare, ferocious creatures long known to be extinct: unique forms of bugs, worms, lizards, etc. There’s even a couple of remnant species previously thought to be only mythical in nature. Yet here they are in the most unlikely of time and place.

How can this possibly be? It simply cannot be.

Warning Signs
Many of the former mud hive inhabitants are known to have traveled in swarming packs whose preferred form of travel was to burrow underneath the cool ground soil. These small creatures are said to be hyper sensitive to the slightest disturbance of their nests. If the Pyramid has truly left behind an accidental clue, one must tread carefully. These breeding pods blend in quite well with natural cavern landscapes. Think of it…would anyone ever march recklessly ahead if they knew a fallen bee hive was nearby?

The DM’s Angle
So DM Ben’s item transition plot is rather straightforward. The Journal’s author found this mud hive artifact and made the appropriate scientific notes. One can then logically assume that he somehow managed to get inside the Pyramid of Shadows for more wild discoveries. Our explorer miraculously escapes the Pyramid’s clutches at some point. However, his firsthand accounts become so legendary and valuable that he becomes an easy target for his one-of-a-kind-notebook…which ultimately ends up in the House of Books as a black market artifact.

And just like that – the Winterbole Journal lives on.

Questions to Ponder: What do you think of our journal bridging technique? Does it seem plausible? How would you tweak this idea to make it better? Got any additional plot twists or ideas that don’t make the transition too complicated?

Download the New Journal Page PDF | Download Its PSD

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.

Cavern Calamity
What better place to awaken the earth than in an underground setting. A hollowed out cavern has all the necessary pre-requisites: sharp rocks, silent (and not so silent) odors, subtle noises, water pools and loose dirt.

To make the Pyramid of Shadows D&D 4E module his own, Ben is adding intermittent below ground areas to certain rooms and hallways. These special squares will represent visual cues that undesirable cavern dwellers may be nearby – adventurers will have to watch where they step.

Movie Motivation
The 2012 film Prometheus serves as the inspiration for our terrain mud hives. Early on in the movie when the research team first enters that chamber, there are tons of jars with a mysterious black liquid resting at the top. Ben was entranced with how the simplest human touch released such deadly beasts.

Consequently, Ben wants a less than obvious terrain square that carries that same sort of imminent danger (and also releases a random combatant anytime someone accidentally disrupts its home turf). Think of it sorta like a bee hive that’s minding its own business until somebody bumps into it.

Nature Calls
The very first time the party finds itself beneath the Pyramid, ask the players to perform moderate Nature and Dungeoneering checks. The DM then reads the following…

“Your feet rest upon a natural cavern floor clearly void of personal interaction. Rocks and stones of all sizes surround you. A mixture of sand and dark earth fills its uneven crevices. Non-discrete sections of the floor seem somewhat unearthed…and perhaps previously occupied.”

The DM should spring forth a single minion monster (see below) during this initial inspection. You want to drive home the point that they need to watch where they walk or suffer the consequences.

Angry Inhabitants
So what could be living in the ground, you ask? All sorts of creepy things are possible.

• Animated Mud (#46, Mage Knight Dungeons)
• Acid Ooze (#46, Mage Knight Pyramid)
• Grub Swarm (Shattered Star)
• Medium Air Elemental (Shattered Star)
• Giant Ant (Dungeon Crawler, Omens)
• Grappler (Dungeon Crawler, From the Depths)
• Monitor Lizard (#29, Underdark)
• Runespiral Demon (#14, Demonweb)
• Kruthik Hatchling (#37, Deathknell)
• Stormclaw Scorpion (#48, Lords of Madness)
• Twig Blight (#58, Dragon Queen)
• Rat Swarm (#23, Unhallowed)
• Rat Swarm (#28, Savage Encounters)
• Stormclaw Scorpion (#48, Lords of Madness)
• Swarm of Spiders (#58, Underdark)
• Demonweb Swarm (#41, Desolation)
• Rot Scarab Swarm (#32, Desolation)
• Snake Swarm (#35, Dangerous Delves)
• Rot Grub Swarm (#40, Lords of Madness)
• Giant Rats (Reaper Legendary Encounters)

Consider making a random monster table to roll upon and having the monster stats at the ready. Minions are a logical role type as these creatures are merely meant to harass and disrupt the group’s normal combat.

Game Play
The trick is not to get too literal. If the DM were to put these special tiles down on the game board at the outset, it would be rather easy for someone to simply meta game and just walk around the different colored terrain.

Instead, Ben will include a couple unique squares on the board to convey the possible existence of mud hives (i.e. monster hotels). However, the real danger squares will not be revealed until a movement trigger is actually tripped.

The DM will have a photo/sketch of the room with pre-marked threat squares. At the start of a player’s turn, a perception roll is made (moderate DC). A successful roll means the player carefully moves to the desired spot on the map (and nothing happens). A failed outcome means a mud hive has been disrupted and an inhabitant released. The enemy host occupies that bad square and pushes the player back one adjacent square.

Remember, just because one player successfully avoids the mud hive doesn’t mean that no else can activate it on their own turn (think of it like a balance check – just because you know the surface is treacherous, you still have to maneuver the surface correctly).

There are some fun twists here. The cavern monsters may or may not be aware of these maniacal mud hives. If a monster accidentally trips bad square, maybe there’s a yes/no roll each round to determine who the angered occupants attack (you or the monster).

Mud Hive Tutorial
The key to this terrain is building squares that are playable. Miniatures need to rest fairly cleanly on the special squares (which also need to span the traditional d20 width).

Here’s how Ben made his mud hives:

• Glue down your stones
• Add your DAP filler (for the flock to rest on)
• Paint your squares in the appropriate color scheme
• Cover the area with PVA glue
• Sprinkle on your thicker sand flock
• Go back and add a second layer of sand if needed
• Dab on smaller amounts of a darker flock
• Add a little more sand flock (so that dark comes through)
• Spray with your matte sealer

Remember, you’re trying to simulate that the earth has been burrowed or brought up from underneath.

Ben enjoyed several great articles while researching this topic:

• Tutorial: Terrain Powers
• Terrain Effects and Terrain Props Podcast
• A (Mostly) Comprehensive List of Fantastic Terrain
• The Architect DM: Traps, Hazards, & Terrain

Until next week!

Questions to Ponder: What do you think of Ben’s mud hive mechanics? Got any other monster inhabitant ideas? How would you improve upon the terrain build? Got a favorite terrain effect you like to use in your own game? Got a relevant article on this topic to share?

Get D&D Daily Updates on Facebook

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.

Forging Options
First and foremost, if this particular DIY cavern set build scheme isn’t your cup of hobby tea, you can get everything you need from Dwarven Forge. Their cavern line is exquisite. And while you do have to pay more for these pre-made, out-of-the-box quality pieces, many DMs consider this investment a worthy one. Underground environments require a lot of personal touches (like dirt, water, shadows, etc). Ben actually likes to mix and match homemade Hirst Arts terrain with Dwarven Forge…especially those amazing hallways.

Rubble Piles
Ben is a huge admirer of Hirst Arts master “Caveman” – a legend hobbyist of the terrain community. The Pile has always admired his dungeon rubble piles from afar. The good news is Ben finally has a handle on this eye popping technique.

And while rubble accents might be obvious to some people, the proper technique has always eluded Ben…with tutorials being few and far between. Once again Hirst Herculean hobbyist, “Bumyong,” recently gave Ben an impeccable forum thread to get things rolling.

Here’s your rubble-making materials checklist:

• Woodland Scenics Coarse Brown (C1276) flock
• Woodland Scenics Medium Gray (C1279) flock
• Akasha Sand Natural Mix (available at Walmart)
• White Glue (Ben’s Favorite: LePage)
• PVA Glue Mix (50% water | 50% Elmer’s)
• Matte Sealer
• Admire the final product

Your first step is to glue your tiny rubble cluster to the appropriate tile. That white glue will take some time to dry (don’t pour it on too thick). Once complete, go back over your rock pile with that watered down PVA mix as this step cements those little rocks in place. Finally, spray on the matte sealer to seal in the stoney goodness.

You can place these rock piles on certain terrain pieces or go the modular route and mount them on chip board, thin cereal box cardboard or even small miniature bases.

Caverns Water Spots
Back in the 2-2-13 blog post, Ben shared some tricks and tips for making a sandy stone floor. Well, this past weekend, he decided to include some standing puddles by sprinkling in some Woodland Scenics Realistic Water effects. There’s very little sweat equity as long as you follow the steps in the right order.

• Glue down your Hirst Arts cavern stones
• Smooth on your DAP filler
• Sand out some ridges (while wearing a breathing mask)
• Prime your piece
• Apply a heavy dry brush of your basecoat brown
• Highlight a light dry brush of Americana’s Toffee
• Add your moss flock (and let it fully dry)
• Add your sand flock (and let it fully dry)
• Spray on your matte sealer
• Paint the open water grooves (GW Knarloc Green/Loren Green)
• Pour your water effect on (ever so slowly)
• Let it dry (by being very patient)
• Admire your work

This type of cavern piece may seem like a lot steps but they’re all quite quick and easy. Never fear – the payout is certainly there.

Ben tried a deeper blue water color (GW Midnight Blue) but that particular color was just too pristine. The darker green was more musty and realistic. Ben would love to use the Vallejo water effects line but he still hasn’t found a clean way to apply it. Suggestions are certainly welcome. Ben is pondering a painter’s tape technique.

Room Dynamics and Game Play
With our first encounter’s terrain nearly done, it’s time to talk about the dynamics of the two rooms. DM Ben needs to flush out the area’s properties (heights, skill checks, terrain effects, etc).

The encounter goal is simple: draw the characters to the stack of bodies in the center of the room and hope a few players fall through to the underground cavern chamber. This tactic forces a party split and makes it a more manageable fight for the Headtaker villain.

Here’s the list of our bad guys:

• Gurrak, the Ettin (added a boulder toss ranged attack)
• Zombie Rotters (beefed up the attack bonus)
• Carrion Worm Dweller (tweaked the Carrion Crawler stats)

As your adventurers morph into this area, our resident Ettin monster quickly goes on the offensive by making it rain heavy boulders. In round 2, some of those dead bodies will morph into melee zombie minions.

Here are the notable room and terrain properties:

• Body pile (new bad guys rotating in)
• Shiny object bait (Perception DC 16 to entice greedy)
• Pit collapse (30 feet; 3d10 falling damage)
• Wall climb (Athletics DC 21)
• Cavern mud patches (50% bugs wandering monster)
• Character grab and throw (Rules Compendium, pg. 243)

Assuming the fighting dust settles, there’s some nice treasure to be had here:

• Get to meet their new NPC (in the fifth bag)
• Coins: 300 gold, 75 copper, 120 silver
• 2 Potions (Fleet of Foot and Saving Grace)
• 2 object relics (before they disappear – Athletics DC 26)
• Crawler Nest: two random fortune cards from mundane items
• Any other Crawler nest items are ruined by saliva acid decay

What are those “cavern mud patches,” you ask? Tune in next week to see the what and the how (and hopefully a full view of this encounter’s entire two-level game board).

Questions to Ponder: Have you ever made rubble piles for your terrain game board? If so, is your technique similar to our steps? How did you like the water cavern effect? Is Realistic Water your wet material of choice? Have you ever used Vallejo water effects in your terrain – how do you apply it? What did you think of our Carrion Cavern Worms? Got any power suggestions?

Read the How-to Cavern Floor Tutorial | Download our Items PDF