Hi! My first try making a 3D map. Hadn't planned on it but it's a little obtuse tracking 3 floor plans side by side. This is way easier to see line of sight.

It's pretty much superglue, paper, cardboard, and chopsticks. Now that I've done it I think I could do this again in an hour.

TIL: attaching the next floor, sliding it down, building the stairs up, then leveling the floor helped a lot. It's sturdy enough but super light weight. I should print the grid instead of drawing it by hand next time. For stairs going up, cut the base a 1/8 wider so the vertical backing has something to sit on, rather than attaching to the side.

If anyone has suggestions for better materials or how to do it quicker, please let me know!

This is a near 1:1 scale paper print of Shadowdark's "Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur" map. I ran the dungeon last night with a group of friends and I'll be running it at a number of conventions through the rest of the year.

The paper print is cheap enough but I don't think it's going to stand up to repeated use. I'm looking at investing in a much higher quality print on vinyl or linen/cloth material. Does anyone have any recommendations for brick & mortar or online print shops? The final dimensions will be 42" x 66" so that's a factor.

Hi everyone,

I just went to an antique market and found this bronze (or maybe brass?) box. My first thought was, “This would make the perfect dice box!”

The problem is, the box is quite old. The interior has old velvet, and the inside walls are bare metal. I’m really new to DIY, so I’d love some advice before I start working on it.

• What’s the best way to add new velvet or felt lining to the interior?
• Will glue actually stick to metal, or could it damage the bronze/brass?
• I’d also like to add some organizers or compartments inside so I can store different type of dice separately — how should I go about that?

I’d really appreciate any tips or product recommendations for adhesives, materials, or lining techniques that won’t ruin the antique metal.

Thanks so much!

I’m just trying to figure out how much it should sell for. I paid about $200 in lumber in 2020 when I made it so I figure that was fair. It’s inspired by the wyrmwood table build for Critical role, only about half the size and made out of red oak instead of exotic woods.

This is what it looks like after dish washing soap, cleaning spirit and drawing over it with washable pen, before washing.

I also tried methylated spirits on the ‘carpet’ looking drawing, but it washed off the grid lines before reaching the permanent marker..

Any help appreciated :))

Edit:
Image in comments

I have already made this blueprint, which includes two DM facing screens that I can use for encounters, infinite realms (for my screen table top), campaign notes, etc. Then a player facing screen to set the scene with imagery or videos. The only thing holding me back from starting is trying to find a good material I can work with for the case I’m stuck on what type of wood would be easiest to work with or if I should even use wood at all and maybe use a different material all together. I’m kind of a beginner at this diy stuff and want to make sure I get it right.

I've also started crafting D&D stuff and it's so much fun! Everything will be a gift for our DIL. She's our dungeon master :) There's still some stuff missing. I didn't manage to make any doors because of all those terrible drying times. It's a lot of waiting, isn't it? But I'm really proud of the result because it was my first time doing something like this.

My husband helped by cutting the XPS with our new Proxxon and he made the picture frame walls. There's metal inside, so the frames can be rearranged. I put magnets in the middle of the picture frames, so you can also put customized paintings on top.

I also added metal to the floor tiles. The layers are old dictionary book covers, metal strips from old file folders and cardboard. One side looks like stone, the other like wood or a black hole.

I didn't seal or varnish anything after drybrushing, there's not enough time left for drying. Should I still seal the surface later, maybe with Mod Podge?

Hello! I want to build my very own custom D&D table, complete with all the accessories (cup holders, dice trays, screen in the middle, etc.). What is the best cheap option for a screen to put in my table? (The cheaper the better). Links greatly appreciated! I am very new to the concept of a custom D&D table, so any other tips and tricks are also greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I have this on princess castle from when I was younger. I want to turn it into a map type thing for dnd. I would like some tips what supplies I should consider to get for it.

Hi all!

I recently moved to a space with a spare bedroom and wanted to turn this room into a dedicated DnD space for my group! Unfortunately the room size is somewhat small for the amount of players in our group. The group consists of 6 players and 1 dm (7 total). I wanted to build a table for this room to seat everyone as well as have space for battle-maps either through an imbedded 55” tv, or a projector. Our group is fairly combat oriented so battle-maps are a must.

Looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation in which they found a solution for or if anyone has any creative ideas or advice that could lead me in the right direction on how to fit a table for this many people in this space while allowing for some comfort room for people to leave to use the bathroom or get snacks.

Thanks everyone!

I make a lot of my terrain and like to use remote control LED lights for color effects and stuff. One of my players gifted me a little projector (which is awesome) but I really don’t care for projected maps since I really like to use minis and terrain and the projector washes all of that out. What I was thinking instead was to use it almost like another light with effects. Has anyone done this? I was thinking something with rain and flashes of lightning. Any ideas?

I've been thinking about what makes a session truly memorable vs just fun. For me it's the physical stuff, ambient music, printed maps, minis... but I'm curious what has made the biggest difference for others. Do you use props? Handouts? Physical coins for gold? Anything that made your players lean in and actually feel like they were there? Looking for inspiration, share your best immersion tricks!

I'm working on a minimalist abstract terrain project, originally set in monotone but decided to try adding color, now I'm wondering how many different colored surfaces there are in a game.

So far I got:

• Brown for wood and dirt

• Blue for water

• Grey for stone

• Green for grass and plants

• Yellow for sand

• White for snow

I don't think I'm missing anything, maybe red for lava??

Some initial context:

Back in the day, I used to run my campaigns in person and mapping was very basic; I would typically draw on a blank grid with a marker or, if I was going all-out, get one of Dyson Logos B&W map printed on a large sheet of blueprint paper. But then I spent years running my campaigns online and I got really invested in making intricate maps for VTTs. Now, I'm running a new in-person game and find myself not wanting to give up the kinds of maps I was creating for online games.

I could print out a full-color map on a poster sheet, but that gets expensive, especially since I like using new maps frequently. I tried printing maps out on multiple letter-size sheets of paper, but found that paper (even card stock) was too lightweight and so shifted a bit too much on the table.

So, right now, I do the following:

1. Make a map in Dungeondraft or find a full-color map I like.
2. Open the map image file in Photoshop and export it as individual, 8x8 inch slices.
3. Add a grid overlay to the individual slices and print them all out.
4. Glue each slice to an 8x8 inch piece of chipboard so it has some good weight.

This works pretty well, allowing me to spend significantly less money on an individual map, and the chipboard doesn't shift on the table nearly as much. BUT. There's one problem: given how frequently I use new maps, I'm eventually going to run out of space to store these maps. I'll have stacks of chipboard filling up a room in no time!

Which brings me to my latest project. I'd like to have a single set of 8x8 chipboard pieces that I can slot/slide map slices into and out of. My idea is to wrap some transparency paper over the top and sides of the chipboard, creating a tight pocket that the paper can slide into. This would accomplish a few things:

1. Save space by allowing me to store only one stack of chipboard and then each map just as sheets of paper.
2. Reduce work since I wouldn't have to take time to adhere each map slice to chipboard every time.
3. Allow me to write on the transparency with dry or wet erase markers.

Some questions / concerns I have and advice I'm looking for:

• Have any of you done anything like this before?
• Do you have any recommendations on how I should go about accomplishing this?
• Are there specifications for the transparency I need to consider (thickness, material, etc)?
• I worry that it will be difficult to slide paper into the pocket if the transparency is too tightly-wrapped, but don't want it to be too loose, either, since that would make it unstable for minis.
• I'd like the map slices to be able to sit flush against each other, but wrapping the transparency will prevent this. I can't adhere it to the top, though, because then the map slice itself won't fit. I'm having trouble finding a solution to this dilemma.

Looking to use an indoor fog machine to set the time for our Halloween one shot. Any recommendations on an indoor setup? Looking to cover the table and the floor around it.

Have two cats would prefer it to be pet friendly.

Heard a water based solution won’t leave a nasty film and should be safe to use.

Any recommendations?

I keep seeing videos of people assembling these tiny, detailed rooms with working lights and microscopic books. But when you buy a DIY miniature house kit, are you actually building the whole structure from raw materials, or is it mostly gluing together pre-cut pieces like 3D-puzzle furniture? Is the main appeal the crafting process itself, or do people mostly use them as desk decor when they’re finished?

Hi guys! This is my first post here as I never dared actually building something myself before. After some time DMing, I am ready to properly build my first DM screen.

I have been playing with some concepts for the Art (don't worry these are not final versions), but I am very indecisive on what direction to take conceptually.

Which one do you like? I want to engrave it on wood, and the DM screen will be 3 horizontal panels (I am short, I can't see the party's minis if I use vertical ones lol).

I could ask AI, but I'd much rather have human opinions!

To clarify: Yes, these are AI, I want to pay an artist (a friend of mine) to actually do the art, but I do not know which direction to go, so I wanted a bit of public advice first

I recently tried out a concept for a dnd encounter, wholly thought of and designed by me, that I ran an Ai through, to see how they would react, both to test my idea, and test my adaptability. I know Ai is also supposed to compliment you, but I found the experience to be really helpful to build up a whole fantasy race, and trying to creating something alone.

So what do you think? Is it okay to use the Ai PURELY as a tool?

I have everything set up for using a new projector for my maps at the table. I haven't run a session with it all yet but I'm curious if light levels are ever an issue for people who use this set up. Like, if the lights are low so you can see the map more clearly does that come at the expense of easier character sheet reading? Is it purely about making a good middle ground or am I putting too much thought into this?

Any help appreciated!

Edit: Everything was sorted by directional spotlight lamps. Turns out if it's a little too dark...lamps help. Who knew!?!

I have 2 rock formations and 7 trees plus a fancy tree, I also have minis and more webs.

Photo to show difference in scale. The base measures 45 mm.

This is a handout for Impossible Landscapes, one of the big campaigns for Delta Green. The book is pretty particular in describing this invitation, and I'm thinking it might be fun to try and make actual paper copies for my players. Any suggestions on how to start? I'll drop the description in the comments.

(inb4: the calligraphy is purposely janky, for lore reasons. The final product doesn't need to be so "fatigued," and I could live without the goldleaf, but otherwise I'm curious what you would suggest.)