Monday, June 19, 2017

Historicon 2017 Game: Catacomb Layout

 The final planning and placement of the catacombs for my upcoming Historical games (DAK & Dragons and SOCOM and Sorcery) is pretty much done.  The "catacombs" will be mounted of 2x2 ft 1/4 inch MDF boards.  I had enough of the Lunesdargent Egyptian themed tiles to make 5 sections and will use some cavern tiles from Dwarven Forge for the 6th.  Kickstarters are dangerous things even when they do fund.

 The layout is designed so I can move the tiles a bit around the central throne room and will have 9 access points so I can very play.  Once I'm satisfied with the layout, the sections will be glued down with a little spot of Tacky glue.  It's a sturdy but not permanent hold.  Each section will weigh 15-20 pounds given the weight of the MDF and cast pieces so they'l  be difficult to move.

 I had planned to cut EPS foam for inserts to cover the open space but there just isn't enough time to get that done by HCON.

Here is a close up of the throne room.  The game rules will allow players to set charges to blow holes in the walls to gain new entry points or perhaps even widen the door frames to allow vehicles to get in.  Given what awaits them inside, a tank may prove most useful....

 Before finalizing the placement (final as in gluing down), I need to run a few playlists to see how long it takes a team to fights its way in.  Each of the six games is set for four hours and I'm hoping for the following rough timeframe:

15 minutes rules explanation / command assignment
1:00 hour - fight way into the catacombs
2:00 hours - fight in the catacombs
45 minutes buffer

Of course, it's really impossible to fully plan these things as players have minds of their own!  That's one of better aspects of being a GM - having to think on your feet.

 I still need to add some details pieces (treasure piles, remnants of earlier tomb raiders, traps, etc).  We'll see how much can get done by July 14th, which is only 24 days away!
Rather than make sparse sections, I went with a cavern entrance.  I may try to lighten the tiles to match the desert theme.

11 comments:

Paul O'G said...

Awe inspiring setup Miles! Your players are going to be very lucky to have you GM them through that

chris said...

A brilliant dungeon crawl would be invented just to use this. My son's RPG mates and I would have a ball. Brilliant, hope it goes well

Secundus said...

WOW!

Ivor Evans said...

You are clearly doing the Lord's work :)

And why do I always get my games at the same time as yours - people look at your table and it's like Filet Mignon and then there's my table next to it... basically a Steak-Umm

jmilesr said...

Mr Evans - Steak-Umm my ass! You're my competition my friend!

Good Luck

Miles

Terry Silverthorn said...

They've come out very well indeed. I am still painting mine, but chose not to paint the outsides/backs....may need to rethink that as I like the completed effect yours are showing

Steve Williams said...

Outstanding! I would probably, all things considered, give a testicle to play on a set up like that - shame I'm on the other side of the Atlantic.

jmilesr said...

Steven - that's a rather steep price to play in any game. As I'd rather not be involved in collecting said payment please consider any future fees as waived!

Bill said...

Stunning work. I'll have to make it to Historicon one of these years. Hoping to do Fall-In! this coming November.

DeanM said...

Wow...just amazing terrain once again, Miles! You are truly a master at this.

DaveD said...

Looking good Miles...