Elevation and Depth Marker : How To

I recently posted a "sneak peek" of what I'm using for an elevation or depth marker when my players either cast a flying or water breathing spell and decide to travel up into the air or down into the depths of the sea.  These are used for single figures and are just a quick way to show that a figure is flying or descending into the depths.  I'm also building (and will document later here) a full elevation platform game board using acrylic sheets similar to some other systems out there but again for significantly cheaper.  

After the jump I've included the instructions and materials list of how you can make your own elevation or depth marker similar to mine.  I'll also show you some alternative methods to indicate height or depth if you don't want to go this route.  Though these elevation markers are some nice gamer bling that your players will absolutely love.

Speaking of gamer bling, I also want to point you to another elevation marker system by one Walter C. Napiorkowski, who sells the Dr. Wizard's Patented Elevation Indicator on the Emerald's Emporiums website.  Walter is the inventor, and patent holder, of his elevation marker which uses an laser etched acrylic rod and some colored elastic bands, similar to hair scrunchies. After some initial concerns with my elevation marker (parties associated with Walter jumped the gun and sent a cease and desist order to me thinking I was selling my elevation or depth marker, which i'm not) were put aside, he explained the process of how he came up with the marker and the materials he uses.  Those materials are why it commands a premium price of $10. I have to agree, as Walter uses premium and durable products in his construction of his device.  Walter uses  optically clear, very dense, light transferring acrylic – the same material used in trophies and engraved awards, and one of the few materials that laser etches in "white" rather than just melts.  As noted he laser etches his acrylic rods and the rods have an indication system for 1 to 1000s of units of measure which is very easy to use and read your current characters elevation.  He also sells add-ons for his product.  You can buy various color bands to color coordinate your figure if you so wish or if you have a larger figure you can get add-ons to accommodate those figures. 

I don't own one of his products, so I've no direct observational data to provide but reviewers seemed to like them and if I didn't have a restricted budget I would have purchased a few of these myself.  Also if you do decide to go for the "golden standard" and pick up one from Walter please go to emerald's emporium's website as other retailers take a "chunk" of Walters profits and we want Walter to continue to do what he's doing!

Now for the tutorial on how to create your own elevation or depth markers or use an alternate method if on a restricted budget like myself...

Make Your Own Resin Water Tiles! - Part 5 and Part 5a

In the previous video, Part 4, I showed you an actual pour of resin into a mold some of the molds I used in creating tiles, along with some results and some mistakes when using that Clear-Lite resin.  Like to point out again that the epoxy I've used, and have had no problems with is the Easy Cast casting resin you can find at Michaels, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Hardware stores, and other craft stores.  

hassle free water tiles

The remaining two videos I show you how to coat the top of your resin tiles with 5 min Epoxy and create that wave pattern or a ripple pattern.  The tile I use  in the video is a tile that was a "mistake", a portent to the hilarity of the other mistake I make in this video when I mix up a little too much resin.  Either way the process is the same with a "good" tile and I'd recommend you only mix up .5 fluid oz or 1 tiles worth of resin at a time.  The second video shows a follow up to my mistake, and how I try to correct the mistake, which I do somewhat.  Eventually I had to do another half coat to blend in the line on the tile (not in the video) but the results are depicted in the 1st post of the series.  This goes to show you however even mistakes can be corrected if  you take the time and learn from them.

Ultimately, however because I was using the Clear-Lite resin, and I can only assume a chemical reaction between the clear-lite resin and the 5 min expoy the tiles are ruined, as the two chemicals caused a crystallizing effect in between the two layers of 5 min epoxy and resin.  I've not seen any of the crystallizing with the easy cast resin which is what I use exclusively for my water tiles.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask them in the comments below!


You can also find the entire series HERE at the d4d6d8d10d12d20 youtube channel!

Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

  

Starcraft2 We are a GO!

Just thought I'd share with you kind readers something that might interest a few of you, I just picked up at a midnight release Starcraft2!  Looking forward to playing with you all who also picked up the game.  I'm installing as I type this so I'll share my persona later.  If you've also picked up the game and want to meet up for a little terran vs protoss vs zerg leave your game id's below in the comments. See you in game!

They were giving out free posters!

Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

Elevation and Depth Marker Preview

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to give ya a brief glimpse at what i'm working on in addition to my prep-work for tomorrows "block buster session of DnD/Pathfinder".  My players have been doing a lot of flying around lately and I remembered seeing some height elevation depth markers out there that used a solid acrylic rod and what looked like a couple of "O" rings to mark of either elevation or height, and I think cost about $10 bucks for just one marker!  Crazy.

Elevation and Depth Markers

Being the DIY'er that I am and being my budget is a little smaller lately, I knew I could do something similar and would cost a lot less.  So after some initial tinkering I came up with the final result pictured above.  I'll write up the process and the materials used in an upcoming tutorial article for I think the total for each marker is around $2.00.  Neat!

Let me know how you manage various heights and depths for each character in your game or how your DM/GM manages things if you're a player in the comments below!

Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

• FREE Ocean or Lake Water Tile 8inx10in (d4d6d8d10d12d20.com)

Make Your Own Resin Water Tiles! - Part 4

In my the previous post on creating water tiles which can be found here , I gave you an overview of the resins I used.  In today's  video, after the jump, you'll a basic mold and a pour of two river bank tiles with some discussion of the use of mylar sheets to get an ultra smooth non tacky cast from the Clear-Lite casting resin. (Note: The easy cast the technique is the same but you don't have to use the mylar)

Make Your Own Resin Water Tiles! - Part 3

In my the previous post on creating water tiles which can be found here , I gave you an overview of what the final result was and showed you some pictures of those results.  In today video, after the jump, you'll see the tools used and I'll talk about some of the resins I've been using.  

World Works Games Terraclips Unveiled!

I've been a big fan of the World Works Games products.  Whenever I can, I'll try and pick up one of their product if my budget allows for it, but more and more often I find myself on their site and amongst the community of builders there just looking for inspiration to create my own constructions.  Which tailoring my constructs for my campaigns and players is something my players enjoy, and I enjoy doing.

World Works Games site is a great resource to get ideas and they have many wonderful products. It was World Works Games that I found the idea to create a Velcro Game Board playing surface so you can attach your dungeon tiles then move pieces of terrain to and from the battle mat quickly and efficiently.  

You never had to have the entire dungeon constructed like you would with dwarven forge tiles just hidden by paper coving the tiles.  All you would do is have 1/4 of your board constructed out or stitched together on the fly because everything was so light weight as it was all papercraft (for the most part) and bringing in a new terrain piece always surprises the players, in a good way.

World Works Games has just announced the release (Aug 5th, 2010) of their latest product called Terraclips.  This time around its a tangible product unlike their digital .pdf's downloads...

Make Your Own Resin Water Tiles! - Part 2

Water Tiles In Use In The Wharf District

In Part 1 of the video series I gave an overview of what I was actually creating, showed a few examples of the finished resin water tiles, and why you would want to make your own, its cheaper, and you can customize!  I briefly touched on a few of the basic steps and ideas of the water tiles.  In todays video, after the jump, I talk about the basic tools needed to create the tiles, some of which includes cutting surfaces, cutting tools, cutting guides, what you can use for a mold (hint its lego's), and of course a quick overview of some source material that you could create, or in a pinch you can use the ocean and lake water tiles sheet I recently posted.

Make Your Own Resin Water Tiles! - Part 1

A Few Of The First Water Tiles I Made

After the jump is the first video, in which will be a series of videos, showing you how to create your own clear or colored tinted resin water tiles for a fraction of the cost of the commercially produced water tiles from companies such as dwarven forge.  While there is nothing wrong with the dwarven forge tiles, and they have some awesome stuff and I would love to own a number of sets, my budget does't really allow for such extravagances at this time. A plain water tile from dwarven forge can run you $15.00($12.00ish if you get a whole set) their tiles are also 4x4 in and 1/4 in deep.  For comparison I recently made 16 deep water ocean tiles for around $1.50 or $2.00 each if you include the epoxy resin for the wavy pattern on top.  Also my tiles were 5x5 in and 1/4 deep but since you're making them you can make them in any size you need.  It just takes a bit of time and workbench area.

Inception - A Must See!

I just got back from a preview movie screening of the new Christopher Nolan movie called Inception which opens this Friday July 16th.  The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, with a few other cameo's from some other famous actors...

Sneak Peak Of Todays DnD/Pathfinder Game

Some home made tiles for today's game that the players might or might not get to see depending on what they do of course! Mwhahaha!


Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

FREE Ocean or Lake Water Tile Sheet 8x10 Heroscape and 1.5in Grid

In yesterdays post I posted a deep water tile sheet using a 1in.x1in. grid specifically for dnd or pathfinder rpgs. I received a few requests via email for a similar 8x10 full page with a larger 1.5in grid for dnd, pathfinder, and heroclix as well as a overlay for games like heroscape and classic battletech.  So it was pretty easy to do those formats, so here they are!  Just click on the pictures to download and print out at 300dpi.  I'll likely create additional pages of other terrain as well in the future as this seems a popular feature.  Again if you have any questions, ideas, or similar resource links leave a comment!

Deep Water Tile Sheet 8x10 300dpi
Heroscape / Classic Battletech

Deep Water Tile Sheet 8x10 300dpi
Intersection Highlight
Heroscape / Classic Battletech

Deep Water Tile Sheet 8x10 300dpi
Heroclix Or Alt DnD / Pathfinder 1.5in. Grid

Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for stopping by!

FREE Ocean or Lake Water Tile 8inx10in

Deep Water Tile Sheet 8x10 300dpi
1in Grid
DnD / Pathfinder RPG

Water tiles for your game table/board is what this post is all about!  Its a full 8in.x10in. page of deep clear blue water.  Perfect for the deep ocean or the Nyr Dyv of Greyhawk Campaigns, also known as the "Lake of Unknown Depths".   The grid is 1in.x1in. so its compatible with your other gaming tiles.  The water tile was constructed at 300 dpi so make sure your printer can handle that size or larger. I've had some issues printing from a browser window so I would recommend that you use gimp or some other dedicated graphics application to print out the sheets.

As for in game use I typically print out my tiles on card stock, then mount it on foam core board with a little bit of adhesive.   If you've followed the make your own Velcro Gaming Board post I did awhile back you can certainly make these up for use with that system.

Though what I'm going to be doing, and showing you in the next couple of posts, is showing you how to add a resin to your game tiles to give it a little extra added depth to your water and a bit of wave action.  The technique results similar tiles produced by Dwarven Forge specifically their water tiles.  

I created some previously for one of our play sessions where the group had to cross the river styx headwaters so those tiles are a bit more grungy/greenish/blackish but the technique is the same I'm using on these deep clear blue water tiles and I'm making enough to fit my entire Velcro Game Board, perfect for those long ship voyages and pirate campaigns!  

So feel free to download(click on the pic above) and use the water tiles as you see fit. All you need to do is just print, cut em to your own design specs, and gule em to some foam core board...or not.

SORD by Myth Merchant Press For Pathfinder

FULL DISCLAIMER: The kind folks over at Myth Merchant Press sent along a code for me to download their SORD PF Ref Document from RPGNow for Free because they liked my Pathfinder Character Sheets so much.  This is a quick review of their product.

Hey Everyone, 

As I mentioned in the disclaimer the kind folks at Myth Merchant Press sent along a free copy of their SORD PF pdf document (System Operational Reference Document : Pathfinder) for use specifically with the Pathfinder Role Playing Game.  While I did receive the document free, I'll believe in giving readers a unbiased and honest opinion on the product.  So If I think something sucks I'll certainly tell you.  Pleasantly this is not the case with the SORD PF pdf.  The short answer is that the SORD PF Document is a pdf that every Pathfinder DM should own.

The goal of the document is stated right in the preface:

My goal is simple:

Speed combat by at least 15 minutes per encounter.

Looking at the SEARCHABLE pdf, its certainly clear that you could create the same document yourself, that is if you had oodles of time...