Modular Frostgrave utility pieces

I built several versatile terrain pieces to supplement the standard board tiles in our collaborative modular Frostgrave terrain board. These “utility pieces” are helpful for breaking up boring flat areas, blocking line of site, providing traversal, and approximating urban features. Let me give you a tour.

Dungeon tiles and stackers

I first learned about dungeon tiles and stackers from Black Magic Craft, but I built mine based on designs by RP Archive. I needed to fill volume fast, and RP Archive’s larger size stackers did the trick.

RP Archive’s floor tile design incorporates ideas introduced by Wyloch’s Armory. They work together with other elements of RP Archive’s modular system, more of which I intend to build later.

I was daunted by the quantity of stackers and tiles required to fill out a 3’x3′ Frostgrave board on their own, but I like having several of each on hand when setting up a game with our other terrain. I may crank out a couple more every now and then between other projects.

Mini stackers

Though they have their place, three-inch tall dungeon stackers challenged me on a table covered with inch-and-a-half tall board tiles. I needed to scale down. I chopped up a couple in-progress floor tiles and assembled my first “mini stackers.”

I love these more than I can describe. They do all the things I want utility pieces to do, and they fit and complement the other shapes of our table.

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I need maybe three times the number of mini stackers I have. These will be my standard palette cleanser project for a while. They ended up similar to the original Black Magic Craft dungeon stackers, so I may also try some with those dimensions.

Scatter sticks

I made a handful of half-inch by half-inch by three-inch rectangular prisms to spruce up stairs and add cover to exposed platforms and bridges. They come in handy but they are too easy to bump and displace. I may experiment with blu-tac.

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Rampart sections

RP Archive shared how to build these modular rampart sections and I couldn’t help but give them a try. They were a little fiddly to build but the result was worth it. Have you noticed that RP Archive shares good ideas?

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Utility pieces in action

My favorite gaming terrain balances two goals:

• Interesting gameplay
• Immersive visual storytelling

I try to meet both goals by mixing elements that emphasize one or the other. These utility pieces fall firmly in the “interesting gameplay” category. I can use them to block or connect things as needed to provide the best chance of a fun game. Visually, they just need to avoid distracting from terrain in the “immersive storytelling” category.

I pair utility terrain with eye-catching terrain to give my friends and me the best experience I can.

Afterward, it stores away very nicely as I plan my next build.