Monday, March 14, 2011

Great value from Dwarven Forge

As great as they are, $99 for Dwarven Forge Sets is a very expensive purchase. Coupled with the fact you need at least three sets to get adequate coverage for a typical dungeon session makes many have second thoughts before buying. Note by coverage I don't mean the entire dungeon but rather the variety you need to have a average dungeon section out on the table. The only reason I have a set is because a friend gave it to me. (I still appreciate the gift Scott if you are reading this).

But one thing I am willing to get is items to "stock" the rooms I drawing using Gaming Paper (a great deal) or a dry erase battlemat. I have two plastic tray filled with these items and small dungeon tiles that I use for this purpose. It allows me to fully describe a room quicker and more accurately than verbal alone.

It happens that Dwarven Forge does make accessories. Because Jerry of Gold Star Anime publicized the game where I used my one Dwarven Forge set to simulate the confusing nature of a maze, the folks at Dwarven Forge gave him a couple code worth $50. Graciously Jerry gave me the code which I really appreciate.

So I went over the Dwarven Forge site and decided to get their Dungeon Accessory and a set of Columns. When I got them on Friday and was really impressed. They come fully painted and the larger pieces have felt bottoms. The prices accurately reflects the quality of the items as you can see for yourself. Plus the quantity of items you get feels like you got $35 worth as well.



My own compliant is that I wish I was able to buy multiple quantities of single pieces. I would have liked to have been able to order more chests and barrels.

After receiving this I think I will save up and buy the tavern set. Also makes wants me to paint the resin pieces that I had for years.

3 comments:

Gothridge Manor said...

Those look great. Don't you have a bunch of resin barrels? Just needs some paint and you'll be good to go. Tavern will be fully stocked.

Robert Conley said...

I have three stacks of barrels but no singles. So this was a welcome addition.

Justin Alexander said...

Must... resist... temptation.

I've found that the use of miniatures can be highly problematic because once things reach a certain level of representation, the players tend to anchor their vision of the game world to its depiction on the game table: Put a salt shaker down and call it a troll, they see a troll. Put an ogre miniature down and say "this is a troll", they see an ogre.

(Classic example: One of my players got a miniature for her PC which featured hot pink boots. Her character had never had hot pink boots before this, and during the session where she first started using the miniature she made a point of saying several times that her character did not have hot pink boots. Three sessions later? Her character was understood to be wearing hot pink boots.)

So I've always been able to resist the expensive temptation of DwarvenForge, because I know that all the players will start seeing is the DwarvenForge terrain. So I can either have my entire game world become constrained by the narrow limits of DwarvenForge; or I can only use the DwarvenForge terrain intermittently when it's appropriate (which makes justifying the expense even more difficult).

But I'd never thought about just using the bits and accessories... You may have "gifted" me with a very expensive habit. ;)