Terrain Building Guides

Savage Worlds was designed with miniatures in mind. While handfuls of miniatures can often be found cheap on Ebay or from game stores, locating cheap terrain can be harder. Plenty of companies produce fantastic terrain pieces in a variety of materials or in the form of self-assembly kits, but costs are often high.

To this end, TAG has commissioned its resident model maker and figure painter, Steve (a.k.a. Beardy Steve), to produce a series of scratch-built terrain guides, aimed at modelers with little practical experience or a tight budget. A lot of his projects are designed from discarded scrap, the sort of materials easily found in skips.

Available for free in PDF format, these step-by-step guides contain photos of each stage, as well as write ups of how the terrain was constructed. Prices are given where materials have been purchased, but due to his location in the UK, all costs are in Pounds Sterling. As such, they should serve as a guideline only.

Guides currently available:

Jungle:

The first installment details how to make jungle trees and bases. Ideal for any pulp or exploration game set in the steamy jungles of Mesoamerica, Africa, or Southeast Asia, the terrain brings instantly color, and camouflage, to any gaming table.

Ruined Pillar:

An addition to the jungle bases, this terrain piece can be made for just a few dollars and a little time. By changing the vegetation or basing material, the ruined pillar can be easily constructed to make any terrain.

Temple:

Although designed to serve as the centerpiece for the climax of DTA #2, this stepped pyramid/temple could easily grace the tables of a Sundered Skies game, or even Pinnacle’s Solomon Kane setting.

Labyrinth:

Constructed specifically with DTA #1 in mind, this large terrain board details one small segment of a labyrinth. By grouping multiple boards of different designs together, you can create an entire maze (or dungeon) for the heroes to explore.

Dig Site:

Well what is more Pulpy than an archaeological dig, Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark springs to mind, but this time we are off to China for this one. Being married to an archaeologist it seemed a suitable piece for the hero’s to fight over.

Easter Island Hill:

Hills make great scenery pieces. As well as adding height to the battlefield, they break up the tabletop and allow dastardly enemies to advance unseen. Rather than just showing you how to make a common or garden hill, Steve has opted for a themed hill.

Ruined Building:

Buildings can seem a daunting task but they add an extra dimension to your games and are worth having a try. A ruined building can be a lot easier to make than a fully roofed one.

Abbey Wall:

Building (pardon the pun) upon the Ruined Building terrain to make something a bit bigger and more impressive.

Ruined Complex and Hill:

Following on from the cool Abbey, a ruined complex of religious buildings plus a hill.

Quick and Easy Ruin:

Something quick to do, but looks quite impressive – a corner ruin with a wooden upper floor.

Barrow Mound:

Barrow Mounds are useful places to find interesting artefacts or just to be looted for the treasure they contain. However the long dead residents are not always ‘sleeping’. Sometimes their restless spirits remain and are a terror to behold.