Down Under DM

Saturday, 12 March 2016

A bit of silence doesn't indicate lack of productivity! :)

Things have been quiet around here so but that doesn't mean I've not been busy!

I had a baby :) so there's that.

Then the team over at Lone Wolf released the 5e SRD for Hero Labs which had me excited to check it out. Unfortunately due to the limitations of the SRD it was quite lacking. As a result I have been working alongside some very talented community members to release the D&D 5e Community Pack.

So if your a player looking for a character creator or a DM looking to take advantage of the Tactical Console you should head on over and check it out!

D&D 5e Community Pack

We havn't stopped at adding just the missing official content. The Community Pack already contains a host of extras from some amazing 3rd party companies and even homebrew content. Check out some of the content sources we have been working to add below.

If you want to see what the output for this application looks like have a look at the example below.

Monday, 8 February 2016

Tomb of Horrors - Build List

I have been asked to provide a list of the material used to build the Tomb of Horrors. So here we go!

http://www.amcsupplies.com.au/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2013_2325
At least 50kg of Hydrastone went into this. I think. I lost count sorry.

www.hirstarts.com

Floor Tiles Various Sizes Mold #201

I wish i had 10 of these. Unfortunately i made all the floor tiles with just one of these!

Gothic Dungeon Builder #45

This was used to create the walls in the first half of the dungeon.
This was used to create the final crypt.

Gothic Dungeon Accessories Mold #41

Used very little. The final tomb contains the corner arch.

Gothic Arena Accessories Mold #42

All of the columns, double doors and some dressing used in various rooms.

Gothic Panel Accessories Mold #4

I used this primarily for the statue wall feature and little golem statue.

Gothic Additional Accessories Mold #44

This wasn;t necessary to the build but i did use a heap of the 1/2" wall pieces as ground pieces. Simply because i had them lying around.
The floor piece with the holes was in it was used purely for decoration in the pillared hall.

Inn Building Accessories Mold #57

This mold provided the double seat chairs.

Common Inn Accessories Mold #58

Majority of the dungeon dressings came from this mold.

Unique Inn Accessories Mold #59

Pots, urns, table dressings.

Fieldstone Wall Mold #70

The second half of the dungeon used these walls.
Skulls

Fieldstone Accessories Mold #71

Many of these doors used.
The corridor inset is used in the final tomb.

6" Round Fieldstone Mold #73 and 4" Round Fieldstone Mold #72

Used to create rounded wall and floor effect in the final tomb.

Rock Cavern Root Mold #83 and Rock Cavern Pillar Mold #84

Used in the Siren grotto.

Cavern Floor Mold #281

Used to make the floor in the Siren grotto.

Cavern Accessory Mold #85

Used for chests and dungeon dressing.

Cavern Floor Accessories #282

Used for treasure chests and gold piles.

http://ladysabelledesigns.com/

Mold #3 – Rags and Riches

Used for dungeon dressing.

Mold #2 – Floor Accessory Mold

Used for dungeon dressing.
Used for the tapestries.

http://www.4botindustries.com/

G08 - Lava / Worn Ground Terrain - Silicone Mold and G06 - Lava / Worn Ground Terrain - Silicone Mold

Used to create the lava in the long hall trap.

http://www.bunnings.com.au/knauf-insulation-1200-x-600-x-30mm-xps-multi-use-foam-board-_p0811027

Everything is based on this to enable me to add 3d traps and features below floor level. Such as the pit trap.

http://www.bunnings.com.au/selleys-500ml-aquadhere-quick-set-adhesive_p1230032

Lots and lots of glue.

The Daemon head was sculpted by me out of Green-stuff. I made a mold of it and made casts out of Hydrastone.

Paint:

Black paint for undercoat

Grey paint for dry brush

Various other paint used for details.

Some wall features were printed and cut out on 200 g/m2 paper.

Fishing wire was used in the fountain.

All models seen so far are Reaper Bones. I have also used some GW Dark Elves.

TIME! LOTS AND LOTS OF TIME

Sunday, 7 February 2016

Cheap Miniatures - Where I Get Them

I see this question come up on Facebook groups quite often. People are either new to the hobby or are transferring from Theater of the Mind to Mini and Grid based play.

I never played Theater of the Mind style. I cam from a 40k background and the concept of not having miniatures simply confused me.

Needless to say I went hunting for miniatures. I knew I would need a large variety and I also knew that if I tried to make my collection from Warhammer models that I would likely end up divorced due to the cost issues.

This is where I discovered Reaper Bones!

Bones are a range of miniatures that Reaper creates. They run Kickstarter campaigns to move their current vast metal mini line to cheaper plastic copies.

Now to be completely clear. These miniatures are not as detailed as Games Workshop mini's. GW is pristine, lovely to paint, lovely to build and it scares the shit out of me whenever my 2 year old goes anywhere near them.

See that's the problem. I'm sure many of you have seen the LEGO movie. I absolutely shuddered at the end. Because you don't let kids play with a 12,000 point Ork army. Not unless your restrained in the corner crying.

This is where Reaper Bones came to the rescue. They are made of plastic and you can throw them across the room and they will simply bounce. They are also cheap, like really cheap. So cheap that I think back to the 12,000 point Ork army and I cry and hope my wife never finds out just how much that army is really worth.

There is currently a new Kickstarter for Reaper Bones III. They are still taking late pledges so if you are in need of models I suggest heading on over to check out all the amazing models you can get for bugger all money.

They offer a wide range of miniatures that cover of all your hero and monster needs and they even have some terrain and fluff pieces for your dungeons.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1513061270/reaper-miniatures-bones-3-the-search-for-mr-bones/description

http://www.reapermini.com/

There is nothing more exciting than opening those Kickstarter Bones boxes!

The Tomb of Horrors - Complete 3d Build!

Ever since I started DMing and researching the D&D world I have wanted to run The Tomb of Horrors. My addiction with Hirst Molds ultimately meant I would need to build the dungeon in order to do that.

Here is that dungeon!

The majority of the build is made from Hirst Art molds.
The lava tile's are made from 4-Bot Industries molds.
Some of the dungeon dressings were made from Lady Sabelle Designs.
The Green Daemon Face was made and replicated by me.

The module can be purchased HERE.

WELCOME TO THE TOMB OF HORRORS

Disclaimer: This post contains spoilers. DO NOT PROCEED if you are planning on playing this dungeon. It's too much fun to spoil.

This post is organised by numeric references per the Tomb of Horrors booklet. I have not included a full picture of the dungeon yet. My players are still in the pillared throne room so I cannot post spoilers beyond where they are currently. I have not uploaded photos of rooms they have not found. I'm still hoping at least one of them dies ;)

1. FALSE ENTRANCE TUNNEL 1

2. FALSE ENTRANCE TUNNEL 2

3. ENTRANCE TO THE TOMB OF HORRORS

4. FRESCO OF THE WIZARDLY WORK ROOM and 7. THE FORSAKEN PRISON

5. THE ARCH OF MIST

6. THE FACE OF THE GREAT GREEN DEVIL

7. FOG OF WAR STILL ON
Yet to be found by the players

8. GARGOYLE LAIR

9. COMPLEX OF SECRET DOORS

10. GREAT HALL OF SPHERES and 10A. Magic Archway

11. FOG OF WAR STILL ON
Yet to be found by the players

12. FOG OF WAR STILL ON
Yet to be found by the players

13. FOG OF WAR STILL ON
Yet to be found by the players

14. CHAPEL OF EVIL
14A. Opalescent Blue Altar:
14B. Archway of Glowing Orange

15. STONE GATE

16. LOCKED OAKEN DOOR

17. MAGICAL SECRET DOOR

18. FALSE CRYPT PROTECTED BY FEAR GAS

19. LABORATORY AND MUMMY PREPARATION ROOM

19A - The Large Vats

I provided actual jars for the players to stick their hands in :(
Acid was vinegar
Dirty Water was coffee
The third jar contained a very sludgy combination of Corn Flour and water.

20. HUGE PIT FILLED WITH 200 SPIKES