This is a project log for some terrain I’ve wanted to make for ages: an Iron Kingdoms dock table. I’m making it for two major reasons: firstly, it will be used as a demo board for Warmachine learn-to-play games at PAX Australia later this year. It’ll also be a handy bit of terrain for my Iron Kingdoms RPG group, as the Red Shields mercenary company spend a lot of their time getting into trouble on the Ordic waterfront…
It’s early days yet on this project: a bunch of the parts I want are currently in transit, so I’ve started off by sketching out some ideas and planning it all out. The table will be 2′ x 2′ to remove those early-game turns of running everyone forwards. That also conveniently reduces the surface area I’m working on, and lets me put more detail into it.
Textures and surfaces that I want to include:
- Aged (silvered) timber
- Water ripples
- Stone blocks
- Brickwork
- Rusted metal
Next post will have some of the sketches – I’m still sorting out what it’ll look like, but I really like the idea of a tiered board that runs from a high city backdrop down to the water level. The buildings will sit at the back of the table (so the people running demo games can stand behind it), while the players will deploy opposite each other on the same level… playing left to right, or vice versa.
So, what might it look like? Something like this:
With a few ideas for reference material and details:
