Ever since I first cracked open my copy of the Dungeons & Dragons ‘red box’ as a child, I’ve had a soft spot for RPG starter sets. When I found out that there was a new starter set coming out for 5th Edition, I bought a copy as soon as I could. It provides the essentials to get started, including the Heroes of the Borderlands adventure, which reimagines the classic Caves of Chaos and Keep on the Borderlands locations. These locations are shown on gridded maps that are included in the set, and they will do a good job of helping players to visualise the playing area. However, if you want to take your sessions to the next level, 3D terrain can really add to the experience and draw your players into the game.
3D terrain especially effective when introducing new players to games like Dungeons & Dragons. The tactile nature of physical scenery helps players visualise the scenario more easily, bringing it to life in a way that flat maps can’t match. This increases immersion, makes the game more exciting, and encourages creative solutions to challenges. For example, I recently ran an introductory session for a group of kids using the Fantasy Dungeon terrain and they were jumping out of their seats to get a better look, thrilled to see their characters move around the space, and found it easier to follow the story.
Venturing into the Caves of Chaos
Can you run the scenarios from Heroes of the Borderlands without 3D terrain? Absolutely. The starter set has everything you need. But, if you want to enhance your experience, or want something to hook in a new group, then 3D terrain is going to let you step up the experience. To show you what we mean, we’ve put together some builds inspired by the Caves of Chaos to show you what you can achieve. One of the great things about tabletop roleplaying games is that you are in control of your game and can adapt things to suit your own situation, so you might notice we’ve made some minor changes to the maps, but there’s nothing that should change the gameplay much here.
All of these layouts were built using one Vaults of Enveron and one Fantasy Dungeon kit, and only scratch the surface of what you can do with these versatile kits.
Caves of Chaos: Cave A
The Kobold Lair
Creating the Kobold Lair encountered in Cave A was straightforward. It uses mostly standard wall pieces, but I’ve added some ruined sections to the tops of some of the walls to make it feel more three-dimensional. The models shown are Adventures from our fantasy miniatures board game, Maladum: Dungeons of Enveron.
Caves of Chaos: Cave B
The Mephit Lair
The mephit lair that the party encounters if they explore Cave B was also simple to build. In addition to the standard wall pieces, I’ve used some shorter walls from the Fantasy Dungeon to create the zig-zag sections. The pillars create add a touch of realism, especially the one that finishes off the wall that ends in the middle of map. I’ve cheated a bit here and snuck in the large drain and some channels from the Ravenskeep Sewers set, but you could just use the well from the Vaults of Enveron there instead.
Caves of Chaos: Cave C
The Nothic Lair
Creating the nothic lair takes a little bit of creative license, but making an octagon out of short wall sections gives the ritual chamber a similar layout to the map. The arcanist’s desk and some bookshelves reveal that one of the rooms is a library at a glance, and the crucible of resurrection gives the ritual chamber a suitably arcane feel.
The Keep on the Borderlands
Oh, by the way, did we mention that we also make this awesome Fantasy Citadel terrain…
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