Terrain, Maps & Minis, Oh My! The Long Tradition of Using Terrain and Minis in D&D to Enhance Your Game

3 Wise DMs

In this episode, Tony and Dave sit down with our good friend and fellow gamer, Scott Washburn of Paper Terrain (www.paperterrain.com) to discuss the tradition of using terrain, maps, and minis from the earliest days of the game up to our current times. Along the way, we discuss how we have used and continue to use physical props to enhance our games as well as the tips and tricks to ease the burden on the DM.

1:35 Scott’s Story.

3:30 The mythical “White Box.”

5:20 Minis evolution from wargaming to tabletop.

11:05 Terrain on a college student’s budget.

12:05 The “Dungeon” in Dungeons & Dragons – the wilds

are too dangerous!

13:10 The strange dwarven talent of “Detecting Sloping

Floors.”

14:50 Wait… I need to buy a companion game to play OD&D?

18:10 Our first experiences playing with Scott’s

professional terrain, maps, and minis.

22:00 Monster Wrangler? How about the Terrain/Mini Wrangler?

24:00 The evolution of terrain in wargaming and how it can

flow into your D&D game.

27:00 The how-to of DIY terrain and the building of Mount

Ghakis, Tsolenka Pass, and the Amber Temple for our Curse of Strahd campaign

finale.

30:50 Tips and tricks for DIY terrain that ISN’T an entire

mountaintop vista.

32:50 Our return to the idea of the Terrain and Minis

Wrangler – make friends w/ artificers!

34:15 The epic Mount Ghakis finale build… and how to not

literally build yourself into a corner.

38:20 The when, why, and how of utilizing terrain, maps, and

minis for your game (and a sneak peek into the beginnings of our new

DRAGONLANCE campaign!)

47:50 Scale for minis and terrain for your TTRPG (25 mm) and

the bane of wargaming… Scale Creep!

49:25 Final Thoughts.