Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: Andrew May on September 09, 2011, 02:15:15 PM
-
Inspired by LAFers Paul and DeafNala (floating island/spooky forest) I was thinking today; what constitutes "proper" fantasy wargaming terrain? Things that are not able to be reused in other games e.g. not just forest, hills, 'medieval' houses, etc.
It's easy enough to put a big skull in a cliff face or some such but what do you LAFers think? Being the most imaginative forum that I post on I thought it only right to ask here. What crazy or inventive ideas do you have? Let's start a brainstorm and see what we can come up with and build! :D ;D
-
Having seen the original Clash of the Titans recently, I would love to do Calibos' swamp, lots of skellies hanging about.
-
Personally, I like my fantasy terrain to be rather prosaic... But if you insist:
A castle in the clouds! :o
-
Personally, I like my fantasy terrain to be rather prosaic...
Agreed, but then I like my fantasy gaming to be somewhat minimally ... well ... fantastical. ;)
Doug
-
Maybe those:
Elfish dwellings in massive trees with many walkways.
Extensive caves and dungeons.
Evil temples with chaotic looking gargoyles and stuff.
Skyscraping but medieval Houses.
But thats all covering whole tables instead of being able to build on a small scale base as a compact disk.
I think what makes fantasy stand out from an "ordinary" medieval setting is the creatures, not the terrain.
If you want proper fantasy settings, make up for good miniatures and proper wilderness settings.
just my two cents
GS
-
I'm busy reading a book called Scar night by lan Campbell .
The book is set in a city called Deepgate which hangs suspended by huge chains above the Abyss..
"A city wrapped in chains, suspended above a huge pit where a god and his army of dead live"
now that would make a cool table :)
George
-
A short trip into the mind of Deathnala should provide all the inspiration you need!
-
A giant mushroom forest. And I mean giant, like the size of trees. I've wanted to do that for years.
Although it's been mentioned already, a curvy swirly elven city in the trees is a fantasy classic.
...Oh, and the vast ancient underground dungeon-crawl complex. Can't get any more fantasy than that.
-
A giant mushroom forest. And I mean giant, like the size of trees. I've wanted to do that for years.
I've wanted one since I saw this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%27Journey_to_the_Center_of_the_Earth%27_by_%C3%89douard_Riou_38.jpg). And that was years before I even knew about miniature gaming. :)
-
The bleached skeleton of some titanic monster, long slain by a mighty hero could make a neat fantasy encounter.
think of the strategic benefits of hiding in the eye sockets of The Behemoth's skull and using a crossbow to eliminate aggressors!
The concept of a mushroom forest is glorious, but why stop at simple mushrooms?
Cordyceps, mold, slime-molds and spore pods, oh my! ;D
A fungal forest is so much better when it's diverse.
-
A cityscape built on the back of a giant sea turtle?
-
Seems like a very sliding scale sort of thing. I mean, too much of it comes down to personal interpretation.
Where and how do you personally draw the line between sci-fi and fantasy? Many of the things listed could work just as well in a sci-fi game, depending on your definition: mushroom forests (Revenge of the Sith), giant skulls of dead beasties (Nausicaa), even high-elf treehouses (plenty of space-elves to go around, some of them must have suburbs).
Where and how do you draw the line between fantasy and historical? Would you consider it okay to play a historical game with, say, a castle of fictitious design? How about a modern hostage rescue scenario in a fictitious theme park?
Okay, so the "theme park" one is blatant rules lawyering, but the rest is still valid.
-
A short trip into the mind of Deathnala should provide all the inspiration you need!
You don't want to go there. It's a very strange place that give an entire new meaning to SPOOKY...trust me on this.
There now that the caveat has been given...I can still hear the clatter of their horses hooves echoing off the walls of the little village as my hussars gain momentum; still see their valiant charge across the little bridge & into the teeth of the waiting artillery battery; still hear the shouts as they pass through the battery & crashed into the infantry company sending them in red ruin fleeing in all directions. It was a WONDERFUL spectacle then & remains so yet after more than 40 years.
At this juncture I should include some insightful words of inspiration & guidance. If any occur to me, I'll be sure to add them. That little scene is typical of the way I view gaming, modeling, et al. The terrain was to be honest horribly under scaled, & the minis were not up to current standards; yet the combination of all the elements provided then & now a cinematic moment the was a joy to be part of & a memory to be cherished...that's what proper terrain & its inhabitants should provide.
As to "Fantasy" terrain, it should look right with the Folks that are part of it. It should be "realistic" to the extent that its recognizable, but have something about it that in a real world sense is not quite right. The "not quite right" is made plausible by the minis; the minis are enhanced by being in a setting that feels plausible to their nature. If done properly, the imagination which inspired the whole thing will add the missing elements & set the little actors strutting across the stage.
I think this thread will be an on-going exchange of ideas; SO I'll catch up with the conversation later & go off to paint a face on a Mushroom.
-
I pretty much like the floating terrain seen in Dragonhunters or Skyland.
Would love to make a "Gamingtable" like that.
Also the terrain featured in the comics of "Requiem, Vampireknight" looks pretty nice to me.
Just one teaser:
(http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt196/Comsquare/necropolis_1280x800.jpg)
-
Surely the GW terrain fits the bill?
I can't imagine the temple of skulls in much else than a game of Warhammer! :)
-
Tonight's episode of Dr Who had some interesting hedges.
-
Gah. I wish there was a station over here that still showed Dr Who. Sci-Fi channel used to carry it (behind schedule and trimmed for time, but still), but since their business model for the last decade has been "kill anything viewers actually like to make room for more Ghost Hunters and wrestling" it just had to go.
That's a subject for a different thread though. Carry on.
-
Conect
Try BBC America Dr Who is on two or three nights a week.
-
Tonight's episode of Dr Who had some interesting hedges.
Agreed on the hedges - pity the episode was deathly dull!
-
Not the best, but the faceless medical droids could be quite useful for SF game encounters.
-
Here's an example of REAL Fantasy terrain...or not:
(http://i42.servimg.com/u/f42/16/52/85/59/1_2210.jpg)
Found by JoaoS from Tom's Boring Mordheim Forum.
-
Here's an example of REAL Fantasy terrain...or not:
(http://i42.servimg.com/u/f42/16/52/85/59/1_2210.jpg)
Found by JoaoS from Tom's Boring Mordheim Forum.
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
I REALLY want that to be real...............
-
Interesting discussion, thanks to all for joining in. I've just turned my brain on and crept to the bookshelf to check my Roger Dean books.
:-* :-* :-*
(http://www.artistsuk.co.uk/acatalog/FloatingIslandsPomPoster-Roger_Dean.jpg)
(http://www.fond-ecran.com/ORIGINAUX/divers/roger_dean/roger_dean_001.jpg)
(http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT5y6Nz_B-1vRIntiTmFlJfeb9JALcLlRwWOdvojZHOqQQSR2vU)
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/-bhmIFYfh1sI/RfRb4IgPYHI/AAAAAAAAAaY/q9NTp0pV1RE/Roger_Dean_09_1024x768.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Uz50LIsRni4/SY22DZ_uD2I/AAAAAAAAAk4/aLntRXQ6uZk/s400/Roger+Dean+Green+Tower.bmp)
-
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
I REALLY want that to be real...............
It's not? :-)
Grimm
-
Roger Dean is fantastic. Shame about some of the music contained within those covers though.
-
Conect
Try BBC America Dr Who is on two or three nights a week.
Thanks. Unfortunately the local cable company doesn't carry BBC America on any of their packages. I get my DW on disc via Netflix these days. Which is a pretty good way to watch, except it generally keeps me six moths behind so I can't partake of any of the web discussions.
-
Oh, ah, I'm a big fan of Michael Whelan's surreal-ish fantasy landscapes:
http://members.xoom.it/rhiannon/Whelan01.htm
(http://members.xoom.it/rhiannon/whelan/pathend.jpg)
People seem to fixate on his dragons to the exclusion of his other stuff, which IMO is a shame as the dragons are actually the least of his awesomeness.
-
Nice tip.
(http://pixdaus.com/pics/1254695673FNyFxFw.jpg)
love this one.
-
(http://www.cackblabbath.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/PromoImage-1.jpg)
-
Nice.
My brain is fully engaged now, so I've remembered Dan Seagrave of heavy metal album art fame. ;)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N95UApUAt-U/SKhCcqf0oXI/AAAAAAAAB40/ROm4L2sdLcQ/s400/b1.JPG)
(http://emobmg.photobucket.com/albums/v642/stormspell/Releases/INVECTION-350.jpg?t=1271181783)
-
I sculpted my first mushroom today, and I plan to spruce up the 5 old resin mushrooms I have in my terrain drawer. The forest is underway. :D
-
We have an Inspiration Thread for terrain over at Tom's Boring Mordheim Forum if you'd car to check it out:
http://boringmordheimforum.forumieren.com/t72-inspiration
I sculpted my first mushroom today, and I plan to spruce up the 5 old resin mushrooms I have in my terrain drawer. The forest is underway. :D
WAY TO GO, Cosmotiger! Have a care though; modeling Fungi is addictive.
-
Some more "Requiem" stuff
(http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt196/Comsquare/DSC00921.jpg)
(http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt196/Comsquare/DSC00922.jpg)
(http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt196/Comsquare/DSC00924.jpg)
-
The Fighting fantasy books had some fun ideas - Crab grass, sleep grass and pilfer grass - pictured - to name some.
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/Pilfer_Grass.jpg)
Not to mention great pics of temple idols
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/Picture-111.png)
towering citadels
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/BlackTwr-1.gif)
squalid cityports
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/KhareCoT-1.jpg)
mighty fortresses
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/SgCrspls.jpg)
forbidding caves
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/FtMntrnc-1.gif)
Oh yeah John Blanche did some nice pics too - :D
(http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss360/thantsants/john_blanche_knight_panther-2.jpg)
-
Is that the dragon from the cover of Titan?
-
That it is :)
-
Some more "Requiem" stuff
That stuff looks familiar... I think I remember reading some of that in Heavy Metal back in the day. SS officer dies and goes to hell, where he's made an S&M vampire lord for his "deeds" in life, and ends up in a weird love/hate relationship with a war angel who used to be a Jewish woman he murdered when he was alive?