The latest cavernous creation from Dwarven Forge is sure to send chills down your RPG arm with its amazing Ice Cavern set. The cold passage ways mix seamlessly with their traditional sets while giving the DM a slew of flexibility on the terrain board. Grab a winter coat and follow Ben for an inside look.

Environment diversity is a critical component of your RPG Pile. You can’t do a dungeon crawl week after week after week. The game group will grow bored and eventually break apart. The way to combat this evil dynamic is to mix up the landscapes. You can choose from traditional cavern, fieldstone dungeon, Egyptian/Dark Sun, forest, and now ice cavern.

There are few certainties in this RPG world but one you can bet the farm on is the unbeatable quality and detail of a Dwarven Forge set. Yes, you’re moving to a different price point (but nothing outrageous – besides, that’s what holidays and birthdays are for). Think of it like putting a Bentley in your garage instead of a Kia.

Ultimately, a combination of different terrain by different companies is the way to go. Dwarven Forge mixes seamlessly with other terrain like WotC’s Cavern of Icewind Dale’s Dungeon Tiles. Ben keep at least one box of each DF set at the ready. The unique items alone makes this philosophy worth its weight in gold pieces.

While you certainly could build an entire chilled layout, Ben’s first inclination is to have the dungeon or cavern taper off to an iced area. Maybe an icy beast has taken refuge here and is slowly adapting the cavern to its liking. Or, maybe an evil wizard, tracking the party’s movements through his crystal ball, has suddenly cast an area spell in their area in hopes of trapping the party into a sub freezing environment. The Neverwinter Campaign Setting is also stuffed with great wintry ideas.

Let’s look at the modularity factor. There are plenty of pieces including the stalagmites, ice floors and frozen puddles. These could be dropped in as area effects in any setting.

The hallways feature plenty of curves for stealthing and several straight/cornered walls. Ben’s pick of the set is the frozen overhang piece. There are also several solid ice sections which could make outstanding secret doors or tantalizing skill challenges for escape.

Our mini choices are especially appetizing for this arctic atmosphere.

• Large Ice Elemental, Unhallowed #29
• Frost Giant Jarl, Night Below #52
• Voracious Ice Devil, Against the Giants #2
• Ice Devil, Blood War #35
• Whitespawn Hordeling, War of the Dragon Queen #59
• Frost Titan, Legendary Evils #20
• Frost Giant, Dangerous Delves #16
• Ice Troll, Aberrations #53
• Frost Giant, Giants of Legend #48
• Frost Dwarf, War Drums #48
• Ice Mephit, D & D Night Below #34
• Ice Archon, D & D Dungeon of Dread #29

Ben actually nabbed three of these ice sets so he could get the two bonus pieces (a common promo on new releases). There’s a dragon mini and a slick, large stalagmite.

Neither rain nor slight nor snow will keep your foe’s from walking the cold…thanks to the terrain masterminds at Dwarven Forge.

Questions to Ponder: What’s the last cold campaign or module you ran that would suit this chilled environment well? Care to share the mod’s name?

Add a Set (or two) to Your Pile | Browse Dwarven Forge

Let’s take this letter marathon to another level with a deep, dark look at the underworld. Stay close to Ben and see what happens when you go down under…into the earth that is (ya dirty birdie).

Caverns pieces are your core component of the underworld. Thankfully, you have two industry behemoths to choose from in Dwarven Forge and Hirst Arts. And better yet, the pieces intermingle better than wood Elves and tall trees. But Ben – please, tell us more.

Dwarven Forge has built a dynasty off its unmatchable quality and detail. And it’s never more apparent than in their cavern series. Ben’s already done a nice review here but this stellar series is worth another mention. As the scenario calls for it, Ben gleefully chooses from a slew of interchangeable pieces from all five sets. The Chasm Set is particularly hallowing with its array platforms and stalactites.

Of course, you can always swap ready-out-box-dollars for a me-time-hobbiest-investment. Hirst Arts give you immense artistic freedom and personal pride with its own set of cavern molds. If you’re planning on making a large environment, you can even craft your own custom unique molds to speed up the factory production line. You can even pick between a traditional cavern and rock formation.

Even more helpful, the Hirst Arts forum community will inundate you with countless inspirations. This sacred ground is a weekly bookmark stop for Ben as he trolls for new ideas and innovations.

Of course, the proof is in the (ogre) pudding:

• Enter at your own risk and always innovate (by jbmallus)
• Explore the unexplored (by dukedreal)
• Meet in the middle (by caveman)
• Avoid the flames and look around those corners (by starmaster)
• Swab the deck with Pirate Isle Platforms (by Dungeon Brawl Gaming)
• Notice the transition from stone to cavern (by Ghalgor1)

Quick tip: don’t feel like you always have to wall the entire cavern game board. Intermixing walls here and there can sometimes give you more playable combat space.

Ben has many underworld inhabitant favs such as hyenas and bats but you’ve got a host of miniature monster options.

While going underground certainly isn’t meant to be a playground, the right terrain can be a difference maker here. Ben encourages hobbyists everywhere to dig deep and put forth a cavern encounter to remember.

Questions to Ponder: Do you have a favorite cavern-setting D&D module? What was your roughest underground encounter? What’s the first word that comes to mind when you hear the word “cavern”. Got a favorite cave dweller monster?

Read the entire Transition thread | Read the entire Lava Cavern thread

Traps have resided in deep dark dungeons everywhere since the dawn of Dungeons in Dragons in 1974. So most certainly these deadly contraptions deserve a spot in our little ol’ letter series.

Dwarven Forge nearly opens and shuts this category with their amazing Trap set series. Ben literally trolled eBay for months until he got a winning bid for the original Trap Set 1. There are a slew of modular pieces but the grand daddy has to be the Indian Jones-style ramp and boulder combo. Several pokey items even let you do some helpful terrain cross-over. Trap Set 2 while smaller and less flexible is still a worthy Pile addition on the stone blocks alone.

Thunderspire Labyrinth’s Proving Grounds was another recent trap haven for Ben’s game group. There’s a slick video on the encounter’s deadliness here. But the best part – the module inspired Ben to craft a deadly trap mini from scratch. The beloved Doom Sphere will forever live on a shelf for the world to see.

Mage Knight also has a toe in the water with its 3D Dungeons Trap Pack…incredibly handy but really hard to get. This is Ben’s current eBay white whale. There’s an immediate out-of-box-utility-and-use here: any of the spike options are prime examples.

Got a craft itch for traps? Consider a falling wood beam (just a sawed off wooden dowel and some string) or drop down some good old fashioned spider webs (which should be on clearance by now). Ben even removed the center out of one of his terrain boards for a slick cut-away-scene after the party has fallen through a pit trap.

As for Ben’s bookshelf, it’s dominated by Flying Buffalo’s Grimooth Traps series (many of which are available at DriveThru RPG. If the trap you desire isn’t in one of these babies, you’ve failed your perception check.

Even certain types of flock can play a handy role. Ben used Reindeer Moss from Skullcrafts with great success in his vine pit trap for the 2011 Comicon Ark of Souls module. Ben is still pondering how to make a good quicksand trap with flock though.

Last but certainly not least, you can create your very own motley crew of traps with some Hirst Arts bricks and a little twisted thinking. Spikes, swinging blades, axes and floor traps can be set off at any moment.

Ben doesn’t have a great closing line for this week’s entry so we’ll leave it to Sheldon to bid adieu.

Questions to Ponder: What’s trap killed your character? What’s the best trap you ever disabled? What was the most creative trap you ever encountered? Have you ever made your own trap from scratch?

4E Trap List | 2011 Comicon Arc of Souls video

Where would the D&D landscape be without rocks? Face it – they’re the bacon bits of any good encounter. Join Ben as he pulls some rubble representatives from his Pile to see what might be useful in one’s game board.

Hirst Arts gets a gold star for their Rock Cavern Root Molds (#83 and #84). You can build some pretty amazing environments with these diverse pieces. The interwoven trees are a really nice touch. You get some crumbling columns and skulls in the molds as well.

Sadly, Ben’s never been able to get Bruce’s slick brown paint scheme down and is actually begging for suggestions/help to match it. Thus, he uses the classic rock gray scheme:

• Base with Black Primer and touch it up with soft black
• Heavier dry brush of Games Workshop Codex Gray
• Lighter dry brush of Games Workshop Fortress Gray
• Even lighter dry brush of P3 Menoth White Highlight

Don’t forget to dip into the train hobby arena. Woodland Scenics has all sorts of rock molds – big and small. Ben is eager to try out their Earth Color Kit.

For out of the box rocks, look no further than Dwarven Forge and their Realm of the Ancients 2 set. The single and double boulder piles are perfect for a quick throw-down obstacle. The material and paint jobs are once again top shelf.

A terrain collector always comes across some wacky one-offs. Ben nabbed these oddballs from an old Pegasus Hobbies close-out. These outcroppings got a bit of an oversized, prehistoric-feel to ‘em.

Expectedly, the miniature earth buffet is plentiful here:

• Medium Earth Elemental (Archfiends, #06)
• Large Earth Elemental (Harbinger, #09)
• Loyal Earth Elemental (Underdark, #08)
• Earth Titan (Against the Giants, #33)
• Earth Archon Rumbler (Legendary Evils, #14)
• Earth Mephit (Night Below, #06)
• Elemental Wall (War Drums, #06)
• Galeb Duhr (Against the Giants, #36)

Lastly, look at all the uses rocks have to offer D&D 4E. Rubble provides handy cover. A Rogue can duck behind some rocks to aid a stealth check. You can climb rocks to reach some treasure and even leap from them to aid an attack. That’s just good livin’.

Questions to Ponder: How do you interweave rocks into a storyline or encounter environment? Ever have a character meet its demise from a rock? What’s your favorite earth mini? Know any good rock-rock jokes? Sorry, that last q crossed a line.

Read our Woodland Scenics Rock Mold Review

Typically the letter “O” in D&D stands for common catchphrases like “Oh no…OMG…or Oh sh%t.” Nonetheless, there’s still a classic to be had here in oozes. They’re deadly, sneaky and iconic to one’s game table.

Most oozing terrain spawns from do-it-yourself projects and a dash of ingenuity. And while somewhat intimidating at first, the process itself isn’t too shabby. BlueWarGaming has a worth watching video tutorial but please let Ben know if you find an online link for that Uhu Creative Glue (or if Michael’s carries it).

Dwarven Forge can save you all the fuss with its green slime passageway piece from the Wicked Editions 3 Set. The modular hallway can be dropped in with ease and it looks incredibly convincing.

Your miniature choices are especially gooey. Just remember that slimes, jellies, deadly puddings, and similar mindless, amorphous blobs all count.

• Caller in Darkness (#49 Unhallowed)
• Acid Ooze (#046 Mage Knight Pyramid)
• Yochlol Tempter (#40 Legendary Evils)
• Spectral Magelord (#46 Dungeons of Dread)
• Air Mephit (#12 Unhallowed D&D Miniatures)
• Ochre Jelly 1 (#56 Against the Giants)
• Ochre Jelly 2 (#42 Archfiends)
• Lemure (#34 Giants of Legend)
• Mr. Friend (#23 Dreamblade)

Some D&D purists may balk at including Gelatinous Cubes in this article but not us…we love all evil equally here at the Pile. The leader is of course the openable cube from Desert of Desolation which is now quite the collector’s item. Dark-Platypus Studios makes an especially haunting version. And if you want to get crazy – you can even make one out of soap. That’s right…soap.

For ooze effect, Ben uses a Citadel gloss varnish. It’s quick and easy while definitely getting the Ooze Crossing point across.

Ben concludes with an educational tip: spotless hallway, eerily quiet, and corpses picked clean to the bone can only mean an Ooze is ahead – turnaround and try a new path. Or at least make sure the fighters go first.

Questions to Ponder: How many Oozes have you fought in your adventure log? Ever lose a party member to an Ooze? Do you have a home brew technique for making your own? Got any slime favorite effects?

Our RPG accessory series continues with the shiny side of treasure – jewels. A common plotline in our D&D module history, everyone wants to snag that precious gem. After all, it’s not the iconic centerpiece of a classic AD&D Player’s Handbook for nothing.

Hirst Arts gives you instant casting satisfaction with the jewel cluster from their Cavern Accessory Mold (#85). Ben casted plenty but has never settled on the right paint scheme. Got any GW paint suggestions for Ben?

Gale Force 9 has similar pickings with its Crystals offerings (ice blue or mystic green) from their Battlefield in a box series. Ben came real close to nabbing them at Gen Con but they seemed a tad on large scale-wise for a d20 game.

Your local craft store, like Michaels, gives you an economically friendly option with their walls of beads. The trick is finding a small enough size with the right color so nothing turns out all Polly Prissypants.

Ben’s favorite pick is item cards. They’re eye popping and often evoke feelings of triumph. They also allow you to manage the value by utilizing the back portion of the card. GameMastery item card decks are incredibly addicting with a vast array of options. You’ll also stumble upon an independent card deck from time to time.

Dwarven Forge has an earthy option from its beloved Cavern series. Easily passing as rare stones, Ben has actually used them to fulfill an occasional yet successful whetstone mining reward.

Lastly, the Dungeon Alphabet and the Ultimate Toolbox books have all sorts of fun, random jewel charts for you to integrate into your own storyline. A fav Alphabet excerpt: “This jewel attracts creatures of a certain type (giant insects, ghosts, cats, snakes, etc) that could prove distracting or dangerous to its owner.”

So be sure you don’t discount the jewel – it has a valuable place in any adventure.

Questions to Ponder: What do you do for jewels? Are they a rare treasure in your game? Is that AD&D PHB your favorite book cover? Got a favorite gem plot to share? What jewel property would you fabricate?

Get the Dungeon Alphabet Book

Glory is swell but all that fame doesn’t really pay your character’s (bar) bills. Adventuring really boils down to getting a bunch of stuff. And as the DM, your encounters need items of all sorts. So, let’s take a look at some of your terrain-ical options.

Ben best items’ source comes from the local game store’s bit box. That land of misfit minis is chalk full of itemized dungeon loot. Just eagle eye the appropriate gear and start the snapping and sanding process. Once you removed all the monster’s hands and arms, you’re ready to give them a good painting.

Your weapons arsenal could include a:

• hero’s sword
• sturdy shield
• precision bow
• large ax
• loaded weapons rack

To get your magic on, pick up some pre-casted resin pieces from Itar’s Workshop. He’s got books and bottles of all shapes and sizes. Ben just snagged some cool vases and containers at Gen Con which now gives him all sorts of new magical liquid possibilities.

If you want to roll your sleeves up, the Hirst Arts’ accessories mold (#85) is an item cornucopia. Barrels, chests, pedestals and doors are just a few of the many wonderful things. Of course, nearly every Hirst mold has a useful item within it.

Dwarven Forge is still the market leader in this area with its plethora of accessory sets including dungeon, medieval furniture, tavern and a now out-of-print treasure set.

Finally, who doesn’t love a good random roll to determine a room’s contents? Ben’s game group has a home-brewed Gen Con chart but he raised the bar by creating an even fancier one with Phelanar’s Den. You can download that game sheet and template here. The web also has plenty of resources in this area.

Items have a real place in your terrain. Go the extra mile to obtain some unique flair (13 is the rumored number) and watch how the world around your characters comes to life.

Questions to Ponder: What’s your favorite item find? What do you find the most of? What do you wish you found more of? Is a bag of holding pretty much standard gear in your party? Do you adhere to the weight rules?

See a Dungeon full of items

Hallways – the two-by-four portion of your dungeon floor. After all, a map isn’t much of a map without a myriad of pathways to choose from. Join Ben as he explores his endless attempts at creating the spookiest D&D passage.

Architecting one’s dungeon requires some plotting and planning. You can snag a map from a module or even randomly roll your own. The goal is of course is to make every step count.

Ben’s hall of choice is Hirst Art’s cracked floor tile (mold #203). The combinations and patterns seem endless. Flagstone (#260) and Caverns (mold #281) are just as good.

Our paint combo of choice: easy smeazy…prime black, and dry brush on some GW Graveyard Earth. Ben’s toyed with other color schemes but always regresses back to the dirt floor.

One’s hallways can take on many forms.

• Straight
• Crumbled
• Narrow
• Ornate

Ah yes…the traditional 3 x 3 straight path is a modular maker’s go-to tiles. Plan ahead and make them at various lengths so your lay-down options remain bountiful.

Remember to try and think outside the box with some crumbled passageways. This jagged path quickly raises the blood pressure of your table in a hurry with sporadic squares. For added fun, drop a cave-in at the end.

For elegance, Dwarven Forge is the hands-down winner – particularly with its Realm of the Ancients set. But don’t stop there. Step carefully down a Den of Evil hallway. Or, mind your toes down a perilous cavern.

Now if you want to spark a hobbyist debate, just ask a craftsman how high his hallway walls should be. The first will say 3 high and the next will say two. Ben typically goes with a 2 rows of blocks so everyone around the table can see the action from their keister. The best answer is probably – use a combination of heights for maximum effect.

Lastly, who are your permanent hallway residents? Certainly, a mixture of sand and stone flock is a good start. Assorted boulders and vines also have their place. Stalagmites and unusual rock formations also pay rent. Torches, statues, webs and archways have their place too.

Let’s conclude with a knowledge snippet. An immaculate, shiny hallway will always be trouble as its tenant is sure to slowly follow. Got it? Goooooood.

Questions to Ponder: What’s your favorite type of hallway? How do you determine marching order for the party? Do you like a lot of hallways in your dungeon or more of a dedicated path?

Make your own hallway | Watch our hallway vid on YouTube

The next entry in Ben’s RPG alphabetic series is the letter “B”. An obvious choice here would be BensRPGPile.com which is entering its third year of web blog fun. However, Ben realizes that won’t satisfy your weekly D&D accessory craving. So instead, let’s go with a classic…Books!

Spell books go together with D&D like steak and eggs. Thus, you better have some nifty options for that game board when the appropriate storyline scenario beckons.

Thankfully, you have some great options…

Hit the Forge: If you don’t own the Dwarven Forge Dungeon Accessories set, you should be ashamed of yourself. One particular piece is a simple book. Ben used it in the Keep on the Shadowfell finale but its uses are endless. And no muss, no fuss here – you can use this book straight out of the packaging.

DIY: If you’re handy with a number Gamesworkshop fine brush, you can order the Book set from Itar’s Workshop. Their D&D accessories are first rate and at very affordable prices. Ben just ordered the Standing Stones as a matter of fact.

Cadillac Series: Thomarillion has an insane amount of D&D options in general but alas, they are all unpainted. But you can seek out the services of a professional painter. Yansolo Minis Ebay Store is a fine choice. Ben just loves his Book options. Since you’ll have to shell out some heavy coin, snag these items as an occasional treat (like say maybe Father’s Day perhaps).

Hybrid: And who can forget that loveable character from BensRPGPile.com – Bookman? This bumbling, stumbling, damage crumbling wizard is an original character in our video podcast series.

And if you want to travel light, pull out an item card and represent your magic writings in style. Don’t you think it’s time you turned the page on how books rest on your game table?

Questions to Ponder: What’s your favorite book title from a sample scenario? How do you describe a new-found book to the players? Ever meet a book you didn’t like? What else does “B” stand for in D&D?

Despite water’s ongoing terrain headaches & bad AD&D swim-check memories, everybody occasionally wants a boat in their RPG life. So Ben scoured his D&D Pile in an attempt to share some ship-shape options.

Let’s start with the environment itself. A boat doesn’t have a hull to stand on without water:

• Blue Sharpie: Down and dirty but this always works in a pinch
• DIY: Make your own with Realistic Water from Woodland Scenics
• Wartorn Worlds: Lots of swampy ponds and blue waters
• Rivers: JR Miniatures has amazing bendy riverbed choices
• Dungeon Tiles: Easy to transport with a great look
• Dwarven Forge: The grand poohbah of water

Now when it comes to a seaside setting, Flying Buffalo’s Port of Call Citybook serves up city choices, detailed maps, fully developed NPCs and 60 suggested scenarios,

Setting sail gets trickier though as Ben has found limited choices (albeit good ones). Miniature Building Authority is the captain’s pick with a Small Wooden Boat and Longboat with Mast and Sail option. The special edition Dwarven Forge boat is the ultimate find but quite rare. Lastly, you can also scour the Internet for the DM Rewards’ ship tiles but tread safely.

And for minis, the Fen Hydra or larger Heroslayer Hydra, Large Water Elemental are home run options.

So all you need to do now is pick a place to set sail (which of course will ultimately lead to a friendly dispute on who gets to drive).

Questions to Ponder: Do you do a lot of water adventures with a particular module recommendation? What kind of wet water monsters have you encountered? Does WotC need a new dedicated water campaign setting? Do you have RPG land legs or sea legs?

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