Does anyone use these for RPG's vs Wargaming? if so how do you handle mapping. I mean it saves lots of time to have everything built and layed out before you start playing but how do you handle your players knowing the whole layout of the dungeon or castle before hand? Along that lines, how do you handel secret doors and tunnels?

Also, any suggestions on playing at a small table? There are 6 of us, with notes, character sheets. needing a place to role dice etc.

thanks for any feed back

Depends on how you built it. If modular just put it down as you go. If not, then covered un explored areas with newspaper.

Hope that helps.

CCotD'

I use them for both.

Terrain for a wargame should be versatile, though a dramatic set piece can make a good objective.

Terrain for RPGs I generally save for climactic battles, though versatile town bits are good for firefights/ chase scenes.

Think of the terrain as a stage set - with the players as both actors and audience. For squad level wargames (Mordheim, Necromunda, WARMACHINE, Hordes) and for climactic battles for RPGs I build the terrain into a 'U' - open on one side so that the action can be easily seen from at least one angle, and reaching hands have a clear line. I stole this from long-ago classes on set design.

So, with Castle Works, if I have a battle inside of the castle walls I will erect three of them, leaving the fourth side open.

While you can build entire dungeon complexes I would simply build the 'interesting' areas, plunking them down indicates that things are getting a touch more intense, or have 'sound stages' of frequently used types of areas, standard encounter areas, such as a short length of corridor, and a few commonly sized rooms that have been permanently assembled. This allows you to use a much smaller table than trying to build Undermountan on a card table.

A set point battle can also be played with a large, central piece of terrain that breaks up line of site, with good guys and bad guys manuevering around it.

Hope that this helps.

The Auld Grump

To have more terrain but allow dice rolling, kitbash some of the buildings to be dice towers. There have been great examples of this using Mayhem buildings and more recently with the Watch Tower. I can't remember offhand who did them though.

Arabin

And Skull Cove's cliffs:

http://worldworksgames.com/store/index. ... cts_id=118

This stuff is awesome for RPG'ing

So far I've just built a collection of standard pieces and lay them out as I need them.

If you go the modular way, then traps and secret doors are easy. Just put down the standard piece first. Then, once the players discover the secret door/trip the trap, pull out the standard piece and replace it with the appropriate trap/door piece.

For dungeoneering, DungeonLinx is a quick and easy way to start - it gives you all the floor and door pieces you need to lay out and play a decent dungeon adventure on a table top. Oh, yes, and there's a dragon in there too
For Fantasy city/village gaming start with VillageWorks. Interiorworks will give you the building interiors and lots of great props.
(Others here can recommend where to start of for Modern or sci-fi gaming)

If table space is a problem, try using a separate map and lay out terrain only for the section the players are in at the moment (and put it away again when they move on).

As for coping when the stuff gets bumped, having some sort of stable base really helps. Several of the kits have instructions for making hold-together bases using velco (ProMasterBoard) or dovetail type inserts (KaneLinks). I'm in the process of putting magnets on the bases and painting a large board with magnetic paint for them to clip onto, (which I'm expecting will work really well).

Oh, yes and you get to join in with a friendly and helpful bunch of gamers on the forums too (Course you can do that without buying any of their great kits but it's just not the same )

So far I have only used this stuff for Miniatures games, but with RPG elements........... haven't lost anyone have I??

Basically they have been Miniatures games but where the players have to roleplay their figures in terms of reactions, what they do etc (like warning another player of an enemy creeping up on him, and that player not being allowed to react to the threat until he's warned etc).

As far as the terrain goes, I place everything their figures would be able to see or anything they have been told about........ adding other elements as it becomes obvious.

I also take a picture of the full set-up the night before and print it out as a reference. Much easier and faster than trying to draw it all out. Of course, some sets come with software that you can use to design layouts and print straight out (Plaform Command and Dragon Lord sets come to mind for this).

If I run out of space then I remove old/completed sections of the terrain, shift everything down and add the new stuff.

I'm currently running Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, and now that my players are in the castle (vs teh villiage or country side) I was asking about suggestions. Since the floor plans are pretty big, per level of the castle. What I've been trying to do is build the interior maps of the castle and had be focusing on just doing the current encounter, but since there are so many levels and it's so hard to tell which direction they will go I figured I would ask for pointers from the experts that have been doing this a lot longer then me.

We only play a few hours on Monday nights since I work retail so anything that can speed up game play is cool in my mind.

Whe I get some more set up I'll try and take pictures and post them (with the encounter maps so you can see hoe close I get)

As for sets that I have, well I have Gothic realms, interiorworks Castles & Keeps, Pubs & inns. villiage works and Chunky Dungeons

Try to build the entire Castle would be a foolinesh (one worth to see made) ... I plan to run that campaign also (but in a WW2 version...see the rpg section for it) and my plan is only build the rooms where things can happen (like sets in a movie...you don't build B5 station...you build the parts you need) and a few aisles if the action goes in between... AS fas as to take account where they are... well that is more descriptive... but use the maps of the module (or make your owns) to keep track of where they are going...
I don't know if I've made myself clear but with all the other answers maybe you won't have need of mine