Heritage Dungeon Dwellers Cavern of Doom

[Theomar Pius]

http://www.coolminiornot.com/196496
http://www.coolminiornot.com/196497
http://www.coolminiornot.com/196495

This is my latest project, a commission for David Campbell at http://www.dungeon-dwellers.info/

Basically, what he wanted from me, was to take the original 2D map of the cavern, from the original Dungeon Dwelelrs game, and reproduce it as a playable 3D game board.

I decided to build it out of pink foam, since it would give me the most flexibility as far as executing the design. Since the actual design was already laid out, it was simply a matter of re-creating it.
The first thing I did was lay out a grid, much like a chess board, and give each square on the map a coordinate on the board. I then layed out the floor of the map on the foam, and carved the cobblestones in the cavern, and tiles in the dungeon. Next I built up the walls that border the two, built the supports for the floor on the upper level, and began plotting the walls. I then carved out the walls on the upper level, followed by the lower.
As for detailing, well there are a lot of little things. Of the storebought stuff, one of the two chests is from GW, the other is scratchbuilt from foam and styrene. There is a Thunderbolt Mountain skeleton in there, and the torture chamber set from Fantascene, which provided the Iron Maiden and Rack. The throne, bookshelf, and table are all scratchbuilt. The doors are all functional, hinged with model airplane hinges. The treasure horde is made from glass jewelery beads, and a few metal beads painted as jars. There are also brass beads used for making the lanterns found throughout the piece.
Sorry for so many different submissions for one piece, but this board is really quite large, and one post wouldn't tell the story very well.

These pieces will be at GENCON next month, if you are interested in having a game on them, well, read this note.

Originally posted by David Campbell
Hello everyone,

I know it's short notice, but for those who are interested, I will be at GENCON this year with dioramas of the Caverns of Doom, and Crypt of the Sorcerer ready to play a few rounds of these classic Heritage USA games. I was not able to get this listed as an event, but if there is enough of a response this year, I will make sure to list it next year. Since this is not a sanctioned event, I will be in the open gaming area, at the times listed below. If you are interested in playing a few rounds, either send me a PM, or leave the information in the Forums area of the www.dungeon-dwellers.info website. If you can’t make the times listed below, I am open to some late night gaming

Game/Version –

Dungeon Dwellers (circa 1980), Heritage USA

Title –

Crypt of the Sorcerer, and Caverns of Doom

Date/Time –

Thursday 8/14 3:30 – 4:30pm

Friday 8/15 3:30 – 4:30pm

Saturday 8/16 10 – 11am

These times are subject to change, and will depend on availability in the open gaming area, and availability of my schedule to those who might be interested in playing.

Slots -

10 max for both games

Notes -

I am sure many of us older gamers will remember this game. I have taken this game from paper maps to fully playable Dioramas. I have always enjoyed playing the games, and want to share my passion with others. The games are very easy to play, and kids as young as 10 can pick up the rules very easily (my son started playing with me when he was 8 years old). I do ask those interested in playing that have children that the children have some level of maturity, due to the nature of dioramas made from foam. Also, the figures are made from lead, so I don’t want any of the younger ones chewing on them

A little bit of information on the Dioramas and Miniatures:

The Dioramas were professionally produced by Jeff Clapham (Theomar Pius on coolminiornot.com, and the customhobby.com websites).

The miniatures were painted by Darron LaFleur (owner of the Middle Earth hobby shop in NJ), and Vince Landt (2007 Reapercon gold winner in the CAV category, and honorable mention in DHL large competition).

Pictures of the dioramas can be found on my website:

http://www.dungeon-dwellers.info/Forum/index.asp?sub=show&action=topics&fid=11

Thanks for your consideration and I hope to see you there,

David Campbell

www.dungeon-dwellers.info

[Operator5]

That is awesome work as usual! I'll have to give these a look while I'm at GenCon.

[Backyardpatrol]

That is just awesome! 
I cut my gaming teeth on the "crypt of the sorcerer" back in 1980, by then all the Heritage stuff had dried up around here so I never got to even see the 'Caverns set.
I still have mine, I just wish the mini's weren't eclipsed by other manufacturers!

[Theomar Pius]

That is just awesome! 
I cut my gaming teeth on the "crypt of the sorcerer" back in 1980, by then all the Heritage stuff had dried up around here so I never got to even see the 'Caverns set.
I still have mine, I just wish the mini's weren't eclipsed by other manufacturers!

Then you are just who this is for! You should come to Gencon and set up a game. It's in Indy, couldn't be more than a 4 hour drive for you.

[Backyardpatrol]

Gencon. there is talk about a day trip amongst our gaming group, I'd love to see the stuff in person!

[Theomar Pius]

 

[Operator5]

Theomar: you going to be at GenCon? If you are, swing by my booth at some point. I'd like to tell you how great your stuff is in person. 

[Theomar Pius]

I'm not sure if I'm going or not. If I do, it'll be a day trip. Not a whole lot of $$$ right now.

[twrchtrwyth]

Wow, that's great.

[fourcolorfigs]

This is beyond brilliant! Dungeon Dwellers and Caverns of Doom were my first real gaming experience. We played the shit out of those games in the 1980's as kids. We'd play on my front porch, eating pizza and, rolling dice, and laughing long into those summer nights.

I was able to get the maps back several years ago, and I still have some of my old figures. What memories.

Thanks!

Scott

[Theomar Pius]

This is beyond brilliant! Dungeon Dwellers and Caverns of Doom were my first real gaming experience. We played the shit out of those games in the 1980's as kids. We'd play on my front porch, eating pizza and, rolling dice, and laughing long into those summer nights.

I was able to get the maps back several years ago, and I still have some of my old figures. What memories.

Thanks!

Scott

Scott, that's awesome, I'm glad you like them.