Ben’s feverish room building exploits continue with his interpretation of Thunderspire Labyrinth’s Duergar Workshop (which lies deep within the Northern Fortress of the Horned Hold).

The game group couldn’t conquer the first tower without eliminating Urwol, the Master Smith. Thus, the guys needed a whiz bang encounter with some terrain that would leave a lasting impression. Ben felt this blacksmith chamber was the perfect location.

Key detail pieces and building notes include:

• Two blacksmith kilns ( large & small) for Urwol to start the process
• Anvil-like stone tables to pound the metal in place
• Dry-brushed flock from Skullcrafts to show metal shavings remnants
• Lots of snapped off weapons to demonstrate a fevered production pace
• Crystaline Counters to act as the burning fire
• Trinkets to show a little smithing variety
• Hirst Arts molds (#203, 701, 76, 75, 71, & 70) to put it all together

The 3-D terrain really made this Duergar showdown sing but in the end, the good guys won. Do you have some cool rooms coming up in your dungeon crawls (such as a spider’s lair, excavation pit, etc)?

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Experts say once you build one custom terrain game piece, you’re hooked. Well, those guys sure are right. Ben’s got the fever now and there’s no sane end in sight.

As the group plays Thunderspire Labyrinth, Ben wanted to introduce a more credible connecting plot line to the Pyramid of Shadows D&D module. Thus, a prison block was placed within the Horned Hold to introduce the hook.

The key jail cell components included:

▪ A custom hand-painted miniature to play the main character
▪ A new NPC card for identity and key data points
▪ Floor Terrain and Accessories: Hirst Arts molds (#701, #282, #203, #75, #76, #70)
▪ Chain: Michaels Craft Store
▪ Paints: (Graveyard Earth, Silver, Blood Red, & Chaos Black)
▪ Flock: Dirt from Skullcrafts and dead grass from Citadel

Ben focused on more ornate touches for this piece. It’s the little things like the torches/sconces, tiny buckets, bit box minis, and steel cell doors that really makes this unique build work.

You can learn more about this build by watching the video flyover on our YouTube channel.

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Does a DM ever really have enough beds for his room set-ups? They have many uses ya know including a typical barracks’ setting, a comfy room at the local Inn or an item of stature in the Captain’s quarters.

With so many possibilities, we manned up and took a daring stab at creating our own cot mold. Of course our home brew beds will never measure up to Dwarven Forge (our favs). Still, we feel our option is a respectable item in the perennial do-it-yourself bargain bin.

The paint job was a bit of a head scratcher – particularly the blanket. Ben tried several colors but the green had a nice army-issue-kinda feel to it (for the average minion).

The bed surplus has already come in handy several times. Most notably during our Friday Night Strike game when we played the Bloodtower on the Moorland delve from the Open Grave book.

Keep looking for ways to take chances in your own Dungeons and Dragons projects. Don’t let the usual creative hesitations and doubt hold you back. You will be surprised at the results.

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Every DM reaches a point in their game where they decide to throw up a terrain Hail Marry. For Ben, he wanted to seal the deal on his Thunderspire Chamber of Eyes dungeon with a memorable piece of terror.

The assembly components touched on all the building basics including:

▪ Dire Vampire Wolf: D&D Miniatures Unhallowed.
▪ Rocks: Concrete Rubble Mix from GaleForce nine.
▪ Floor terrain & Accessories: Hirst Arts molds (#203 & #85)
▪ Chain: Michaels Craft Store
▪ Paints: Games Workshop series (Graveyard Earth, Silver, Blood Red, & Chaos Black)
▪ Flock: Grass and Dirt ground cover from Skullcrafts.

Ben’s finishing touches included body parts from the land of misfit minis (the bit box at Gamers’ Inn). He also grabbed an old toothbrush (and not his wife’s existing one) for the ominous blood spatter effect.

So now Torog’s Shrine has a focal terrain piece that is sure to make the party shat themselves. Pick a big battle in your own module and one up, Ben. If he can do it, so can you.

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How good are Hirst Arts rubber molds? They are so good that they made our inaugural post (a homage of sorts). Ben has cast the magic white powder countless times to build amazing modular dungeons…most notably for our 4E campaigns including Keep on the Shadowfell and now Thunderspire Labyrinth.

One mold that has gotten particular creative attention is the Cavern Accessory Mold #85. It’s got boxes, buckets, barrels, bridges, crates, chests, campfires, coin stacks, crystal balls, caldrons, grain sacks, jewels, flames, levers, lion’s head, pedestals, and stone doors. Too much? Nah – where would your rooms be without the finer details?

Even better, with so many painting combinations, touch-up (such as weathering and blood spattering) and assembly options, it really feels like the mold that keeps on giving and giving and giving.

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Few events crack the suspense barrier like a party opening a new-found dungeon door. The group braces for battle and assumes the worst. You can cut the tension with a bastard sword.

And just like that…the moment disappears. Ben equates this adrenaline rush to that brief moment of silence by the crowd when baseball player delivers his pitch to the plate.

With so much excitement at stake, finding and using the right door is critical. Ben ensures a full arsenal of doors is always at the ready. Is the door steel, stone or wood? What types of markings are on the door (writings or pictures)? What is unique about the door (lion’s head, scorch marks, dried blood)?

Luckily the crew over at Hirst Arts has given us the tools to do it right. Ben utilizes essentially three different molds: Cavern Accessory Mold #85, Cavern Floor Accessories #282, Water Cavern Wall Mold #81. After that, it’s just how fancy and creative one can get with his paint jobs.

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Considered one of my all-time find of finds, Hirst Arts lets you cast your own dungeon pieces by using an assortment silicone rubber molds. Simply make a mixture, pop ‘em out, glue ‘em down, slap on a few layers of paint, and whammo…you got a modular mass of D&D goodness with endless possibilities.

They’re incredibly handy for laying down your own dungeon in real time. The pieces add a whole new visual element to the game and let you go 3-D on your party’s ass. I’ll review a bunch of the individual molds in the weeks to come but thought this first entry would best be served as an overall introduction.

It can be a somewhat time-consuming process, and they’ll chip rather easily but one can’t argue with the results. However, if an amazingly unhandy, non-artist, bumbling-of-a-man like me can do it, anyone can. And of course, one can never put a price on the satisfaction of building your own dungeon from a silly bag of plaster.

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