I'm a tabletop RPGer, and not generally a minis gamer. I bought my first set of Terraclips a couple of months back (Buildings of Malifaux), and a box of clips. I'm very pleased with the set, and I think I'll get some good use out of it in the future. But it got me to thinking: As a tabletop RPG gamer, what's the best way to purchase and utilize Terraclips terrain?
For me, the answer boils down to "buy lots of sets, but few clips". As a GM, I don't need 3D terrain for every session. Most encounters can be played "theater of the mind" style, or on a battlemap. I only really want 3D terrain when there's important 3D elements to the environment - stairs, balconies, multi-level treehouses, what-have-you - that would make an encounter more exciting. I won't have a lot of time to prepare for each session, so when I do build 3D terrain, it's generally going to be a small or medium-sized set piece. With rare exceptions, I won't be reusing builds, but rather tearing them down so I can build something new next time I need it. Since I'm not building large pieces, I don't need a lot of clips.
What I do need, however, is lots and lots of sets. That's because I need to be prepared to build any 3D terrain that the story calls for. No build is going to match the fiction perfectly, of course, but the build does need to be approximately the right size and shape. More importantly, doors, archways, and windows need to be as accurately placed as possible. Telling players "there's actually a door there" (or "there's actually no door there") because you didn't have the right wall piece for the build is just going to confuse everybody. So even though I'm not creating large builds, I need a big toolbox of pieces with lots of variety.
With all this in mind, I have a better idea of what sets I want to pick up next. I think I can get a lot of variety in my builds with the diagonal passageways in the Dungeon Essentials set, and I'm hoping that I can use the support columns in the Vaults of Ruin set for a multi-level treehouse build. I've also realized that there are some things that don't need to be built. I was thinking of building a six-story lighthouse for one adventure, but since there isn't actually any interaction between the different levels of the lighthouse, there's really no need to build it as 3D terrain. Each level can simply be its own section on a battlemap. Of course, I might still build it, just for fun.
I hope all this rambling helps the other tabletop RPGers out there. Does anyone else have recommendations for set buys or build tips specifically for tabletop roleplaying games?
