A castle and its nearly impenetrable walls bring forth so many iconic fantasy images and magical movie memories. Those sky touching towers, readied archers, bubbling pots of oil, and an impassable portcullis all have RPG meaning to us. Thankfully, the crew over at Miniature Building Authority have the RPG terrain to do your own table right.

There are 11 different castle wall pieces to choose from including the Town Wall, Destroyed Wall, D-Tower, Sally Port, Inner Curved Wall, Outer Curve Wall, Beloved Gate House, 45 Degree Tower, Corner Tower, Tower Hoarding and Stairs. They’re all made for 25 mm scale and can drop into your multiple D&D settings in a pinch.

You can easily get by with a small starter set: 2 Town Walls and the Dwarven Forge Portcullis. Then slowly add a tower option. Then start to sprinkle in some classics like the Gate House and the Crumbled Wall.

Ben also loves terrain that invites lots of different miniatures to play. The WotC series has a myriad of fine choices (to help build variety in your different uses of this terrain).

Plus, it’s easy to inter mix these wall pieces with your existing terrain collection.. While doing Thunderspire Labyrinth’s Horned Hold, Ben had an absolute blast dressing up the MBA castle walls with Dwarven Forge and Hirst Arts pieces.

One of Ben’s first stops at Gencon is the MBA booth. The sheer volume of choices is pure shock and awe. That annual experience conveys the same reaction as the little boys outside the toy store window in a Christmas Story.

Many of the castle pieces are reasonably priced ($29.95 to $69.95) and it’s easy to add to your collection as you go.

Now whose turn is it anyway to storm the gates?

Questions to Ponder: Do you do a lot of village, high-walled assaults? Got a favorite castle-style RPG mod where this terrain would be useful? Got a preferred castle guard mini?

See It | Get It

Dwarven Forge unleashes its Ruins set to great delight as Ben decides to do some exploring and see what the newest classic dungeon terrain set has to offer.

Let’s start off by applauding the theme – we seemed overdue for a classic dungeon expansion from the talented crew over at the Forge. As you know, reusability is always key when deciding on what terrain to buy (or create) and the Ruins are universal in their setting. That valuable layout flexibility means they can be used by DM’s in countless scenarios. The window sills even let you transform the Ruins from a damaged indoor dungeon room to a battered outdoor building (think 80s reversible jacket).

Ben was once again awe-struck in the set’s detail. Everybody knows personal touches ultimately define one’s RPG landscape. In the case of the Ruins set, we’ve got scattered leaves, finite floor cracks, and tiny rocks strewn throughout the individual pieces. The joyous kicker is the added depth brought out by the layered dirt and stone. You even have pull away stones for those pesky traps or treasure-filled hiding places.

The Ruins also has some slick solo bits including a ladder, thin stone pieces, and stand-alone wall barriers. Ben just drools over these babies as they can be used with any other DF set with ease. You do own at least one set of each Dwarven Forge theme, don’t you? (wink, wink)

Hirst Arts creators should be pleased as well as the set provides the usual pallets of inspiration and makes it easy to integrate into Bruce’s Fieldstone series. Ben tends to favor Dwarven Forge over Hirst when taking his game on the road because of the added durability of the pieces (and their mysteriously light-weight).

There are even smaller, thinner floor pieces that give you lots of 3-D opportunities – a technique Ben and the gang have used in the past with Wizard’s dungeon tiles’ series. Try and get creative here.

At $89, the Ruins set is reasonably priced and you can certainly get by with two sets. Ben nabbed three because he had to snag that bonus, killer Dragon’s nest.

There’s no denying the pride of ownership when building your own terrain but there’s always a right time, perfect place and strong case for buying the best – and that my friends, is Dwarven Forge.

Questions to Ponder: How many Dwarven Forge sets do you own? What is your favorite set? Would you use the Ruins in an indoor or outdoor setting first? What D&D modules might require a Ruins layout?

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This week Ben shares a smattering of structures that serve nicely in the guard post capacity. A common transition in any D&D adventure, a security checkpoint makes for a handy encounter – whether it’s a brief battle or a fact finding exchange.

Ben retrieved four different buildings from his bookshelf to represent a typical sentry’s station. Each has its own uniqueness and possible storyline spin.

- Lookout Post: This stone tower is a bit on the wee side but perfect for those smaller creatures. One can easily perch a goblin sharpshooter at the top with a few heavy swordsman on the ground. You can nab this item over at JR Miniatures.

- Defensive Tower: This magnificent fortification is part of the Miniature Building Authority European Castle Building Series. This looming battlement is your clear choice for any city entry. You’ve got lots of Wizards miniatures options here too including the Arcanix Guard and the City Guard.

- Woodland Hut: Ben picked up this little shelter off a Gen Con display case but couldn’t even begin to tell ya who makes it. The material is actually all plastic and the company had lots of interesting pieces. Post a comment here if you know the author. Ben puts this building in the poor man’s outpost category – perfect for a middle-of-nowhere locale with tribal-like monsters.

- Turtle Shell: This dwelling comes from that same who-knows manufacture as the Woodland Hut. Ben sees this building placed in a swampland area or as the home of a single crazed creature. The giant turtle shell roof is a sweet-ass touch.

Questions to Ponder: What was your favorite building? Got a mod in mind that had a great guard tower scene or battle opportunity? Who makes those pre-cast plastic pieces in that one pic?