Dwarven forge new kickstarter

[bandit86]

Back to the Dungeon.  Always looking good  pricey but very neat.  I like that it is all separate encounters so I can just paint one at a time.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dwarvenforge/dungeon-of-doom-handcrafted-game-terrain-by-dwarve?ref=profile_starred

[PhilB]

By the gods! Those are gorgeous. But I already have some $2000 of their stuff... just how much does one DM need?

Hobby guilt is a b1tch!

[Elbows]

Another swing and a miss.

I love Dwarven Forge (I have...too much).  I thought the first KS was a great idea and a pretty good deal for what you got in the end.  Since then the prices have gone up and the usefulness of pieces has gone down.  Carverns was perhaps okay - but I already had a ton of caverns so I didn't even glance at it.

Modular tiny expensive buildings?  Pass.

Expensive castles?  Pass.

This new one, while attractive with some nice elements is far pricier than previous KS bundles from what I can see, and the pledge goals to warrant that price are far worse.  I don't need LED braziers and 100 additional wall sconces.  I want dungeon pieces.  Actual bonus content to warrant the quite extreme price-tag by comparison to previous ones.  The more they get away from affordable cool dungeon bits, the less interested I am.  The original KS provided you with two full sets of unpainted terrain (and essentially a third by the time the bonus materials were added) for a very reasonable $120 shipped.

The new KS for a similar amount of material is $255...and that's all unpainted.  That's no longer a deal.  They've essentially pushed me away as a customer the more bizarre their stuff gets.  However it's obvious they're going to keep going in that direction because it's selling.

[beefcake]

They have such a huge fan base, I don't know why they don't go for making a hard plastic dungeon. Much more expensive to tool up, but the cost of materials after that is much much cheaper than resin. Also easier to ship elsewhere due to it being lighter weight.

[adventure_85]

They look amazing but are too pricey for me.

[Maxromek]

2.5 grand for the whole thing? What is it made of? Mithril???

I never really cared for modular dungeons when I used to GM, so I never used them. It feels like the walls will just get in the way of everything. And for that price - definitely no chance.

[spect_spidey]

They have such a huge fan base, I don't know why they don't go for making a hard plastic dungeon. Much more expensive to tool up, but the cost of materials after that is much much cheaper than resin. Also easier to ship elsewhere due to it being lighter weight.

They don't use resin anymore. Since the first Kickstarter, it has been "dwarvenite". It is a kind of plastic. It has a bit of give to it so it doesn't break, but certain paints never fully dry with it leaving a tacky feeling. The town series had great potential, but it was very expensive to build much of anything and there were odd piece assortments. For example, five floors, one door, and two roof pieces. How can you make two building with that. I bought several sets until I realized it would take a small fortune to make even a small hamlet! Also the wall sections and posts were prone to warping making things not fit right and always seem slightly off.

First Kickstarter Dungeon was the bomb except for the amount you needed to make anything. A couple sets would do just fine, if you planned to only layout a couple rooms at a time. Any more than that and you would be paying thousands of dollars.

[beefcake]

I see. I actually read their thing properly this time. All I saw last time was "We cast everything in resin". "Cast" was in the past tense in this case rather than present. It seems they do use steel molds. Why not go proper HIPS rather than this dwarvenite that you say sometimes doesn't take paint well. That seems to be a huge, dealbreaking downfall to this if that is the case.

[Supercollider]

The 'Dwarvenaut' documentary is worth a watch (available on Netflix), tracking the first Kickstarter they did.  Interesting story, history, and people.

As others have said, their output looks good, but is ultimately too pricey and bulky (for me at least).

[ced1106]

I see. I actually read their thing properly this time. All I saw last time was "We cast everything in resin". "Cast" was in the past tense in this case rather than present. It seems they do use steel molds. Why not go proper HIPS rather than this dwarvenite that you say sometimes doesn't take paint well. That seems to be a huge, dealbreaking downfall to this if that is the case.

fwiw, They did test against various paints, and had a page where they posted the results. https://www.dwarvenforge.com/painting/

However, you can't get to that page anymore through the website. The page was when they just released their own Porknoy Paints, a few weeks or so after KS1 ended. My guess is that, since they have their own line of paints, they're not testing anymore on other paint brands. I doubt it's a downfall, since their backers (average $1100 each) can well-afford the paints -- if they didn't skip painting entirely and bought DF's painted sets.

More: http://www.dwarvenforge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8364

[beefcake]

  From the cash they bring in it is obviously not a big deal. Anyway, I'm only taking spect_spidey's word for it that the paint can be an issue. Shipping is too expensive for me in any case so I won't be able to go near Dwarven forge.

[Elbows]

I think the aim at the layperson gamer is definitely shifting --- they have a niche market which is growing.  Look at how many folks have pledged for the full $3500+ stuff.  They're going full bore for those folks.

My buddy asked me if I was going to pledge since I have a bucket of stuff, I responded "for some LED sconces?  No thanks"

[beefcake]

I would be skinned alive if I spent 3500 on some dungeon stuff. My wife would do most of the skinning but I'd finish off the rest, I couldn't justify spending that amount unless I had some serious cash lying around, and then I'd probably commission someone to make me my own set and cast that up.

[LeadAsbestos]

Wonderful stuff! Shame I can't afford it...

[Neotacha]

DF regularly tempts me with their kickstarters.  Don't think I'm doing this one, though; between not playing fantasy stuff at the moment and the whole storage issue, I reckon I need to show a little self-control.