Typhon2222's Custom Terrain — new pic of Skull Caves (11/12)

[Typhon2222]

Hi folks,

I can't wield a paintbrush to save my life. My wife, who was a studio painter for a while, teases me relentlessly. I'm a total klutz.

But I do wield a pretty mean can of spray paint! Just point me in the right direction — preferably towards Heroscape tiles — and listen to me cackle.

In comparison to most customs out there, mine are really simple — just lots of extra Heroscape tiles bought from Auggie's, and spray paint at the local Ace Hardware. Doesn't produce great works of art, but at least it's super-fast, and allows one to transform huge numbers of tiles at a single go.

The majority of my stuff starts with Dungeon tiles. Mainly because Dungeon terrain is still easy to get from Auggie's, and because its gray color makes a pretty good neutral base for whatever color you want to spray on it. Concrete makes an even better blank canvas, but it doesn't come in 24-hex or 3-hex form, so you can't make big plates of it. I reserve Concrete for making accent terrain, the kind of stuff you intend to use sparingly.

Anyway.....here is some of the custom terrain I've done so far. It's in index form, so just click on a pic below and you'll be whisked to the right place.

Gore Terrain

Obsidian Terrain

Silver Tiles (Flat)

Silver Iron Golem Column

Black Othkurik Column

Buddha Heads

Skull Caves

[Typhon2222]

Gore Terrain

Dungeon tiles, spray painted with Krylon Crystal Color "Coral Reef".

Krylon claims that this is a transparent paint, but it's only slightly transparent. If you're not careful and apply too much, it becomes almost fully opaque.

I first gave the tiles a very light all-over coat, which turned the gray borders of the Dungeon tiles into a slightly sickly brown reminiscent of putrid meat. (Think a hamburger that's been sitting in the fridge for way too long.)

Then I sprayed a puddle of the paint onto my tarp, let it sit there two or three seconds to begin congealing, took a tile, flipped it upside-down, and rubbed its face around in the congealing paint. Lifted it up and waited a few seconds for tile and puddle to dry further, then did it again. This produced varying textures of paint, ranging from thinly smeared swathes to thick almost fibrous clumps. Occasionally I would hold the tile at an angle to the tarp and rub a corner or two into the congealing goop as well, just to provide a little accent to the edges as well.

The result is the smeared blood and oozing gore effect you see here.


It's not just (rather sick) eye candy. Gore Terrain confers a specific terrain avantage on our maps. Any figure standing on Gore gets +1 to its Attack — but only if attacking an adjacent figure. Helps melee figures, but not shooters.

The idea is that standing in such piles of gore excites melee figures as the stench of blood envelops them, putting them into a frenzy which enhances their damage. Ranged characters — whether archers or mages — don't get this bonus because their work requires precision and clear-headed thinking.

Putting lots of Gore at height — and especially just below it — is a great way to give melee units a little boost. If ranged units scamper up there first, it does nothing special for them — except make it easier for melee to mow them down once they finally arrive.

[Typhon2222]

Obsidian Terrain

Dungeon tiles, sprayed with Krylon Fusion Textured Shimmer "Black".

No special rules for this terrain. It just adds a little visual spice.

It's a bit darker than Asphalt, but much more fun to look at. Asphalt has a slightly bluish tint to it, and is really flat. This is a true dark gray verging on black, and has little shimmery particles mixed in that catch the light and add a bit of life.

Looks AMAZING next to Lava and Molten Lava. (No pics of that yet, I'm afraid. Here it's sitting next to Gore.)

[Arcus]

Gore Terrain is friggin' SWEET!

Originally Posted by Typhon2222

OBSIDIAN TERRAIN

Made with Dungeon tiles, sprayed with Krylon Fusion Textured Shimmer "Black".

No special rules for this terrain. It just adds a little visual spice. Looks AMAZING next to Lava and Molten Lava. (No pics of that yet, I'm afraid. Here it's sitting next to Gore.)

[Kaemon Awa 123]

That gore terrain would look great for rusted metal in marvelscape games too.

[Yodaking]

I like the Gore Terrain power and use as described. It would make the Blue Samurai even more fun. Charge up that hill and cut those archers down!!!!!!!

[Typhon2222]

Originally Posted by Arcus

Gore Terrain is friggin' SWEET! :lol

Hah, thanks Arcus! Glad you like it.

Good to see you posting again by the way. Been away for a while? (Or maybe we've just been hanging around different boards?)

Originally Posted by Kaemon Awa 123

That gore terrain would lOok great fir rusted metal in marvelscape games too.

Huh, thanks for the idea KA. You've got me thinking....

Originally Posted by Yodaking

I like the Gore Terrain power and use as described. It would make the Blue Samurai even more fun. Charge up that hill and cut those archers down!!!!!!!

Yay, Kozuke charge! They'd have a field day indeed.

Thanks for the encouraging words guys.

[Typhon2222]

Silver Tiles (Flat)

Shadow tiles, sprayed with Krylon Fusion Metallic Shimmer "Nickel".

No special rules for these tiles. I just like the shiny silver color. Hard to tell from pictures, but the color has warmish yellow undertones. So it makes a better complement to road tiles, battlements, and wall segments (all of which have brown undertones) than a true silver would.

These serve the same function as swamp water tiles. Great for gaining an extra level of terrain cheap by using these as level-zero. Above all we like using them for starting zones.

You could use any flat zero-height tiles for these. I prefer shadow tiles because I find the black sides less distracting than blue or murky green. (I don't spray paint the sides of tiles, only the tops.) But water or swamp water tiles will work too. Or molten lava, if you have lots of those lying around unused.

Looks especially nice beside dungeon, shadow, lava, and water. Gore and Obsidian too (as below).

[Quack188]

All of your terrain is so simple but it still looks awesome. My favourite is definately the Gore Terrain. +Rep.

[Schulzy]

Your gore terrain is a...odd...idea. Gross and slightly random though it may be, I like the idea.

[Auggest]

Very nice....I love the gore tiles!
.....Andrew

[Typhon2222]

Originally Posted by Quack188

All of your terrain is so simple but it still looks awesome. My favourite is definately the Gore Terrain. +Rep.

Thanks Quack! I'm not an artist like you and most of the other custom-terrain folks. Your creations are jaw-droppingly stunning pieces of art.

My motive is more prosaic. I've always groaned at the basic look of Heroscape's base terrain — let's face it, the grass and rock aren't pretty, and the sand and swamp are only marginally better — and just wanted a way to transform it in huge swathes. I wanted to be able to fully replace the base terrain, making entire maps out of new stuff.

I still use Dungeon tiles as are, because they look neat. But the original grass, rock, sand, and swamp have all been sprayed.