Welcome back, this time around we're making something a bit different. And be warned: It. Is. Tedious. So tedious and boring to make BUT it is something that you can use for almost every situation:
Dungeon Tiles made from old cardboard boxes!
These are a super simple and cheap version of other modular tiles you might see kicking around.
What you will need for tiles and pillars:
- cardboard
- a craft knife, hobby knife or box cutter
- a ruler (which I ended up ruining so maybe use a cheap one)
- a permanent marker
- cheap craft paints and dollar store brushes
- dollar store hot glue gun
- cheap sealer (optional)
- toilet paper rolls (stone pillars)
- chopsticks or skewers and yarn or hemp (for other pillars)
First things first, decide how modular you want them to be and decide how many types of tiles you want to make. I went with four 2x6 inch, two 4x8 inch, two 8x10 inch and around ten of the main 4x4 inch tiles. You will also need some 2x2 inch tiles for the pillar bases.
Using your scrap cardboard, ruler, marker and knife CAREFULLY cut them out.
I personally cut two tiles for every one tile I was making. This was so that I could layer them with the corrugation going different ways. This helps to prevent warping from the paint and also just makes them thicker tiles, giving them some more satisfying heft. If you're pressed for time, you could always skip this step. If you are doing this step, avoid the mistake that I made: make sure all your cardboard is the same thickness.
Once you have your tiles, it's time to paint them up. I went with a very basic stone-like color on one side, and a plain brown on the other side that can be used for dirt or wood flooring. These can obviously be whatever you think you'll use the most in your encounters. After that, use your ruler and marker to make your grid if you prefer a grid. Pro tip: make sure your lines are the same size. They will look much more professional than a bunch of lines going all willy nilly.
Next up, the pillars. The stone pillars are just toilet paper rolls cut to the same length and sandwiched between two 2x2 inch tiles. You can use your hot glue gun to glue the inside of the tubes to the tiles so that you hide a bunch of the glue. Then paint 'em up.
The other pillars are 2x2 inch tiles with a chopstick stuck to them. Then you just hot glue your string (or whatever texture you'd like, mine work well for docks) around the chopsticks to create the pillar. I believe I covered everything necessary. Remember. Sooo boring as a project in my opinion. But worth it if you use maps in your games. And who knows, maybe some will find it fun or relaxing. Enjoy!
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