How To Make a Modular Tower With Playable Interiors for D&D
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- Finally finished with the modular tower with a playable interior for my group's next large dungeon crawl, and I couldn't be happier with the results!
This tower can be 1, 2, 3, and 4 stories tall with room for expansion! You could make new roofs, new base floors, expand onto what you have. It was designed to be endlessly expandable, and I plan to do just that in the future!
This d&d tower build took me 4 weeks working off and on to finish everything with a ton of foam, paint, glue, blood sweat and tears flowing constantly. I worked with my good friend Charles Wolf who does painting video for the initial construction of the tower. If you are interested in some awesome paintings, go check out his channel at: / @impulsiveartistrybych...
The creation of this tower took XPS foam, various cheap paints, hot glue, tacky glue, foam board, mod podge, and homemade miniature washes in order to finish. Really all in all, it is not a very expensive build for something that I plan to have last for so long, it just takes a fair bit of time to make yourself.
As far as DIY terrain projects go, this is by far my longest/largest. The roof alone took a lot of work doing each individual shingle, but man was it worth it in the end! I painted the roof a nice red brick/clay color with some oddball ones thrown in. I didn't do much in the way of painting tutorials for this one, as the video was already getting incredibly long, but if anyone has any questions on how to paint this bad boy, I would be glad to talk to you about it. OR you can go check out one of my other videos! I do very similar paint jobs for the most part to keep a similar theme in all of my builds. I learned how to do this step from another youtuber, whose video I cannot seem to find. If anyone recognizes the technique, please point me in the right direction, I'd love to shout that guy out!
My favorite part of the build has to be the ground floor with the grass and the stone walkway leading up to the door. It just turned out so dang good! I couldn't be happier with that part honestly.
If you have any ideas for what you would like to see built in the future, let me know in the comments down below! Then subscribe so you don't miss any new videos coming out in the future! Also, if you liked this, gimme that sweet sweet like.
Check out my twitter as well, if you like that sort of things for pics of projects before they get released on youtube!: / rybonator1
MUSIC:
"Suonatore di Liuto" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons....
Honestly, you don't get enough praise for your craftmanship. Your creativity in design and simplicity in build make this an insane craft/DnD channel. I cannot sub or like enough.
Just wanted to say thank you. :) I honestly truly appreciate that comment. Makes me really happy!
Dude it right I think the same thing
How about using magnets to keep the tiers together?
I thought about that, but was afraid of messing something up. This was my first large scale build and I didn't want to ruin it haha. But that would be the better way to go!
@@Rybonator what you could do is if you have a hot knife you could see if it came with a little circular top piece and press that into the foam to create a small hole. and then get so of those circular magnets and just glue them in
dude, you saying you're happy with it is so wholesome. i can't help but feel happy for you to. Good job on this man! i know this was 4 years ago, but good on you!
Thanks Scatz! I appreciate that :) I still have this tower in my game room and use it from time to time!
You sold me at "crenelation", lost me for a second with the mispronunciation of "Mod Podge", and then sold me again with the super solid build. Awesome video.
I am here to provider a roller coaster of mispronunciations and emotions. I literally can't stop myself from calling it "Modge Podge" and I don't know why haha. Thank you! I appreciate that.
Man, I just discovered your channel and you're like binging with Babish but for Dnd! I'm obsessed
Hey thank you :) I appreciate that. I really do need to do a babish themed episode...
It looks great! There's two small things I'd work on if I was to do this myself, the windows and doors not making an appearance on the inside and stairs leading to other floors! I think I have an idea on how to do the stairs and still keep it modular too.
To pull this off I'd make two separate "stair models". (Hard to explain via text but I'll try) The first model would be of the stairs leading upward, keeping it pretty basic until nearing the top few steps. At the top I'd leave it flat, matching the wall height. Thus making it so the stairs could be placed anywhere in the room in advance. The second stair model would be a black rectangle with the top step and some hand rails attached to it. Giving the appearance of stairs leading downward, or the "top" of the staircase.
Theses would be free moving parts that you could put on any floor to make a basement access or whatever you see fit. Anyway, that's my 2c!
Those are great ideas! That would have been spectacular looking add-ons :)
Congratulations dude. Sweet home. I have a friend who would like to move inn. ♥
Move on down to the Red Wagon Innn ;D
Also thank you :) I'm glad you liked it!
2 years later, I'm finally getting the boys back into D&D and I'm following this video. Thanks m8 :D
I am enjoying the versatility. Also, I think your idea for the doorknobs is pretty slick.
thats awesome my dude
came to your channel for the dice making, stayed for the cool towers and portals.
Hey much appreciate my dude! :) I'll have to keep up the portal and tower making t hen
This is straight up awe-inspiring. Who needs bardic inspiration when your DIY craft inspiration exists!
Haha glad you like it :) There should be a bard who inspires people by making tiny architecture replicas of battle scenes haha
Verruh Nayce. Every one of these build sessions makes me want to play one of your campaigns, it would be so crazy with all your crafts to spruce it all up.
We have a lot of fun :) I still wish I had even more! I have just been bad about making them lately haha
Just so epic!!! Had so much fun collaborating on this build!
Thanks bud! Really pleased with the results here. :)
This is so cool! I've been binge watching your videos all night and this one in particular has given me so many cool ideas that I can't wait to try out for use in a local d&d event thing I'm taking part in that's coming up. (All of your stuff has been awesome, this one just really caught my fancy)
I'm glad you like my stuff :) I was really proud of this one when I finished up. Good luck in your upcoming event! I hope you have a blast :)
How does this not have tens of thousands of likes
Haha thank you Jax :) I'm glad you like it! I was super proud of this build when I made it
Me: I don’t have anything to build with
RUclipsr: has cool stuff
Me: time to bust out the cardboard
Cardboard is the duct tape of the DnD world haha :)
Check out the dms craft channel dm Scotty uses a lot of cardboard in his build
i really enjoy how you make the terrain with a focus on game play (to be played on) rather than just background scenery!
Thank you! I just figure I could BUY random dollhouse esque background, but I wanna make it about being able to USE it in a game :)
Great job on that tower project.
this is so awesome, the dm of my group and me are constantly searching for new ideas ^^ thanks for all the inspiration
Of course! Glad you liked it :) This was my first epic scale build so I am super proud of it.
That's what I call a master piece!!
Hey thanks :D Glad you like it that much
Hint on easier corner block placement from past projects I have completed.
Use Double sided tape or even just masking tape, etc. to attach the corner blocks to the top corner of the lower level; apply glue of choice to top of blocks and then place top level of tower on top of blocks and bottom level.
Just be certain you are using enough tape to secure the blocks but not so much you can't remove the upper level of the tower from the lower.
Not certain this will work with this exact project, but I have used this technique on similar projects using wood and other materials.
Great vid, keep up the videos, and God bless.
This, and all your other videos, are amazing. love it! its so cool to see those physical manifestations of your imagination. also, dice! i love your dice, they are super cool looking and probably super fun to play with!
Thank you :) I'm glad that you like what I do. I really enjoy the terrain making! I wish I had more time to do that, but with essentially 2 jobs, I gotta be sticking with dice stuff FOR NOW :)
Only recently thought about getting into minis and you've done so much and stuff like this, this creativity. This earns you a new sub sir
I appreciate the new sub! :) Hopefully you keep enjoying what I can put out
Dude, awesome project. I’ve made all the dungeon tiles I’ll ever need and still have more than 3/4 of a sheet of foam, so I think I’ll give this a try. Very inspiring.
Thanks man! I appreciate that. I also just needed some way to knock out a ton of foam at once haha. It goes such a long way!
This thing is honestly out of this world gorgeous. Beyond professional. I can't believe you can make something look so good with simple techniques. I'd love to know how much total time it took to complete this build!
Aww thank you so much :) I'm glad you like it! I was really proud of this when finished.
It took me about 2 weeks of work, but only for like an hour or 2 a day in the afternoons :)
This is really cool looking and a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Of course! Glad you liked it :)
i love your videos and this one so much, you actually sound so excited and happy near the end its awsome when someone is proud of there work!
Haha thank you :) This was my first "Huge" build and it took me a month working on and off. So I really was excited :)
Another way to stack the layers is with dowels in the corners. It will take a bit longer to carefully take out the foam for the dowels to sit flat, but the structure will not move at all in the end
That's probably an even better idea! Thanks for the tip :)
This is freaking amazing. Holy crap.
Thank you Brooke :D Tell your Cousin Post Malone I said Hi :P
Seriously though, glad you like them :)
Found this from original humans react Playlist don't know how it got there but really happy it was
FANTASTIC BUILD MAN! What a great way to have enough terrain to cover the table, if need be? Also a great space saving as well as can be used to store the peices of my games while transporting it to places to play.
THANK YOU both for sharing this awesome idea with us. I have an idea for building a post apocalyptic, (possibly a bit ruined) industrial tower of sorts, but scaled down to the 20mm - 25mm range?
If y'all are up for another challenge, go ahead and do it up yourselves? It would definitely be a video worth watching. 😉😉😉
I totally have a desire to make some future/modern structures in the future :) I'll keep you posted if they come out!
Also glad that you liked the build :) I appreciate hearing that
Looks awesome, great job with the modularity, All the terrain I create is based on being able to use it more than once, one hit wonders are awesome, but, really, you can only use them once
Absolutely, I TRY and only make things that I can use in multiple settings.
Glad you liked it!
One thing that can up your painting and texture is adding sand to the paint. You can also use perlite as that what most of your sand texture made for paint you get from the hardware store is made out of
That would add a lot. Make it much more textured :) I'll have to give it a shot!
It's really nice to give because you can vary it depending on how corse you want it. Also when painting floors paying attention to the way it would be walked on more dirt in a corner and lighter along where it would be walked on more like in a door way gives the scene a bit more of a lived in feel
@@alexbraun6904 Good point! Thanks for the tips :)
This is...amazing. I had no idea you could do this with foam.
Thank you! Glad you like it :)
You are pretty much only limited by your imagination. And budget haha but that's a whole different mess.
Hi, I don't play DND and I don't make models, however stuff like this is always interesting to me and I've been watching some of your videos recently. Your models look really nice! But since they're made of foam I imagine they can feel kinda light, I know you do some stuff to help with rigidity.
Anyways, while I was watching this, I had the idea of adding weights to foam models, like if you added some small metal plates, or maybe metal rods in certain pieces, or on the bottom of certain pieces, it might make the models feel more weighty and therefor just nicer feeling to handle. I'm not sure if this is a practice in this community already or not, just I thought I had. Cheers.
I was Just about to say that xD
I generally LIKE to keep mine light for storage purposes, but yeah you totally can add to them to up their weights if you'd like :)
This is awesome mate! Greetings from Sydney, Australia! I've done this for my Curse of Strahd campaign for a lot of the buildings!
Thank you! I appreciate that. Nice to know I have someone from the down-underdark watching!
Oh that would be super fun to do/play with! I'd love to see what you've done sometime if you have pics?
Rybonator we should collaborate later down the track if you’re keen! I’m currently re-visiting the ideas again, this time I’m making videos for each building! 2nd time around is the charm :) I’m currently building/recording a tutorial for Death House :P
Sounds good! I am working on quite a bit of projects currently, so it might be a bit. But I'd love to take a stab at recreating a structure from one of the books!
Looking forward to seeing what you create :)
Rybonator totally understand! Sweet! Stay posted!
That's awesome!
No u! :) Also thank you.
Maybe you could make the roof *openable* for more rooms and customization. Great video and even more awesome building :)
I should have done that yeah haha. It's a large roof, so it's kinda wasteful NOT to have done that. Oh well, live and learn :) I can always make roof # 2 :)
i love it! the only thing i would change (but not really) would be to add a window like for an attic on the roof.
The only reason I didn't do a window was in case I didn't furnish a floor, as I wouldn't want that to be seen. But yeah that would look great! :)
This is really cool. If you do this again, you should lightly coat the building in glue and then sprinkle the entire building with that turf to make it look aged and overgrown. Currently thinking about working on a destroyed building, which will be fun.
Oh absolutely :) This is supposed to be a building that is inhabited in my campaign so I chose not to, but that would look great :)
I recently found this channel and have gotten into doing miniature models and stuff in the past (I’m not the best with it though) and your stuff is really inspiring. I personally think it would be cool to do a ship or boat tutorial for adventures on the open sea.
I am trying to figure out how to do a boat soon for a future adventure for my players! So I might have to tackle that one :)
Glad you like my content! I appreciate hearing that. :)
me: no interest in building D&D minis whatsoever
RUclips: here's a video about building a D&D mini!
RUclips knows our own thoughts better than we do
@@Rybonator to be fair i do watch Dimension20's D&D games religiously.
This is SO amazing!
Thanks! I really tried to go all out on this one. :)
It is nice. and simple. I like it a lot.
Thank you, I appreciate that :) I'm really happy with how it turned out.
I love your work, i've somehow fallen into a black hole of watching a bunch of these videos, but i'm ok with that. I just have an idea, with the blocks you put on the underside to connect in to the floor below how about double side taping the pieces in place or placing tape over the pieces, in the top corners of the wall of the underside, glue the top of them, then place the next floor on top, let it dry, then pull it off. It seems like something that may work and give you a super snug fit. Anyway like i said just an idea. But i love watching your videos. =)
Honestly, because I was too tunnel visioned to think of an awesome idea like this haha. :) I totally should have done something like that. Thanks for the tip! I'll have to give that a shot next time.
Glad you like my content :) I appreciate you watching
Hey man absolutely love the video, you just earned yourself a subscriber i'm already working on something using the concept. One small suggestion, obviously doesn't make a massive difference and I get if it was an oversight or just time saver but your windows not following through to the inside of the buildings really makes no sense, if you're going to make a window for playable interior you should cut it through so you can see it from the interior. Besides that amazing build and love how modular it is.
Sorry for the late reply! Yes I absolutely should have done that :) Maybe I can go back and fix that to improve upon the building. My next set will have window cut-outs for sure :)
Very nice build Sir!
This type of modular building, designed to be playable interior, brings up a recurring problem : the wall height. I find the walls ( when made to a relative size of the minis) to be too tall. The players are only able to see the interior by hovering above the building to look down. This limited view hinders sight lines and affects the very "playability" we are looking for.
The solution? Have the bottom of each level be open and not the top.
As each floor is revealed, you are presented with a flat, open, easily seen floor. Make those locking posts part of the exterior wood beams overlapping downwards on the outside rather than upwards internally and it should still lock in place as a stack. Hope you find this suggestion useful. Keep up the great work!
That's a great idea to a common problem.! I'll have to explore that in a future build :)
Also thank you :)
Regarding lining things up (5:15) could you have taped (or temporarily glued?) a pin into the corner of the bottom level, so that it was sticking up a tiny bit, and when you put the upper level on top it would have made a little indent to indicate the corner point? I don't know if that would make more work or not?
... Take your Like and leave.
Haha man I totally should have thought of that. Smart idea :)
@@Rybonator lol. some times it take someone not doing to thing to be able to improve it, I know I've had people say "Why don't you do it this way, it's be easier" to me so many times, I was just too close to the thing (and set in my way of doing it the hard way) to realise there was an easier way.
Couldn't agree more :)
DnD is just like, basically every nerdy hobby in one hobby isn't it
Yup! It's the jack of all trades...of nerdiness
Those support strut things on the ground level are called buttresses. Just in case anyone was wondering XP
Just came across your videos and I'm elated to see just how excited you are to make something of this stature.
Could you tell me what paints were used for this? I think this may be the build I want to do and I'd love for it to be as close to this as possible.
Thank you :) I was just happy to have my first 'epic' scale build done :)
I used the $0.50 paints from wal-mart, I think they are called apple something... Essentially the cheapest you can get since it was going to be such a large scale thing like this haha :)
Think about making a few base layers and roofs so you can mix and match them. Instead of one building you can make several for your campaign needs
That's the plan! I just haven't had time to sit down and do it haha
very cool
Thank you! I appreciate that.
A perfectly sealed door. A worthy challenger for Vox Machina
Let's watch Grog and Scanlan break their fists upon it haha
What kind of cutting mat do you use?? I mean the brand, size and if its self healing
I got mine at walmart in person, but I searched and found the link for you here: www.walmart.com/ip/Fiskars-24-x-36-Self-Healing-Cutting-Mat/12335960?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=83&adid=22222222227000157041&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40939468712&wl4=aud-566049426705:pla-56946332225&wl5=9009674&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=12335960&veh=sem&gclid=CjwKCAjwkqPrBRA3EiwAKdtwk9pUkCjwYKAEoGBuJzZLy23J1jZQMZcYkO9wNBrzG52sfuJPIMxhpBoCpOUQAvD_BwE
It is self healing, and it's a little over the 24x36 that is says :)
@@Rybonator okay this is kinda funny but I'm from europe, Spain, and buying from walmart its kinda dificult for me hahaha
But I am so thankfull cause now I can continue my research, I buyed a cutting mat years ago but it was like, in change $15 or something like that and it kinda died recently so I'm searching for a new one that can like live more than a year
This one has been awesome for me, but yeah I did get it there haha. You might at least be able to find something similar on amazon :) (Idk if they deliver where you are or not...)
@@Rybonator yes, they deliver here,buuut, buying a $30 mat its not the same as buying a 70€ overprized mat
hello very inspiring work
Thank you! I don't know if I'd call it inspiring, but I am pretty pleased with the end results!
I honestly wonder how you picked up the skills to make things like this. I've always wanted to try something like that, but I don't have anything close to the skills you have. Did you take any SFX classes, or like apprenticeships? Basically, how do I do this magic?!
So my skill level >= 0 haha. It's all practice, and planning. Watch tutorials to learn what techniques you like and go from there. :) I have quite a few now, as does Black Magic Craft and The DM's Craft, both spectacular channels to learn how to do things like this!
the bottom layer black is common to any craft you paint.
I was unaware of that at the time, but good to know! :)
>notices you're wearing an A&M shirt
>pauses the video
>looks at UT clock tower from my dorm window
>"Eh, OU is our rival now anyway"
>continues watching the video
Also my Aggie ring ;) But you know what? You're alright TU fan. We can both hate schools outside of Texas together! :)
Modge Podge 😊
the things you attached to the lower level walls as strengtheners are called buttresses.
Thanks for the tip :) I fee like I had heard that but could not recall haha
@@Rybonator loved the vid. really want to give it a go now. thanks
Send pics if you do! :) Also thank you
Hello great work👍🏻💪🏻. May i ask you a question? Are the walls the same size like one square of the grid? I have the problem because i don‘t know how i should do the wall.
We want... a SHRUBBERY!!! (Ni!)
Ni!
Dig it. I really do.
Glad you like it!
What type of foam would be best to use when making these on a budget? if you have a preference, that is :)
These pieces are rad!
So I use XPS in this video, but even dollar store foam board can get you great results :)
@@Rybonator Awesome, thank you so much !! ^^
Of course :)
A 4x8' sheet of 1" foam (pink at Home Depot, blue at Lowe's, iirc) runs about $20, fwiw. That could last you a LONG time if you don't go crazy :).
How do you make the tacky glue work?? I have a permanent grudge against the stuff from my efforts to use it when working with foam. I'd wait for 72 hours and it still wouldn't be dry and then I'd try and dremel it and wet glue would get all over my bit and ruin it.
Could you provide a link to your foam provider?
I buy in person at Home Depot or Lowes. Ordering online increases the risk of them coming in broken :/
Whwre can I buy this? I want it
I don't sell mine, but a lot of others do on etsy! Or, you know how now, you can make a set yourself :)
Do I see Dungeon Saga miniatures in not just this video, but the others?
Correct! I got them from a set of terrain crate :)
Hey how tall did you make the walls? Also great job, the build looks amazing!:D
Thank you! :) They are about 3 inches tall each
Ok
It would be amazing to have a bunch of tiles that size
Like path/road tiles and a bunch of buildings
What brand foam cutter do use?
I use a proxxon! It cuts like butter:)
@@Rybonator thanks I'm a new foam crafter guy or whatever you want to call it and I really wanted to buy one cause I've been using my grandpa's skill saw! So again thanks and keep up the great work on the channel!
@@RONdomStuffss Thanks I appreciate it! Welcome to the craft. Best of luck in your creations :)
@@Rybonator thank you, I've made several amazing creations, but not as good as yours, also I noticed you used a blue foam, is that different or just the only kind you could find, thank you! Keep up the good work!
@@RONdomStuffss Mine are nowhere near as good as what a ton of makers create :) Some of their stuff is unreal!
It's actually a green foam, but the lighting makes it seem blue. It's the same thing as the pink stuff, so no worries if that's what you use :)
Forgot the stairs tho.
Stairs were made separate so that I can add them where I want them :)
Stairs. Thise things need stairs.
I build some standalone stairs so that I can put them wherever I'd like in the building :)
MalusSanguine yeah, the stickler in me would have me cut a hole in each floor as space for stairs.
was it just me or was the "green" foam blue
I wish I had the money to do this.
It's honestly not as pricey as you would think. I could make this whole thing again with a $20 sheet of foam no problem :) Then it's just glue and paint.
@@Rybonator Paint is one thing I have a lot of, and Im able to get glue sticks for a fair price on amazon. I think I will try something like this :)
Go for it! Send pics if you do :)
Not that you will see this, but I solved your long title predicament. DIY Modular Tower for D&D With Interior
Bruh LINK THE XPS FOAM THAT U USED
Bruh, buying XPS foam online is bad. It ALWAYS comes broken. Best to go to a hardware store and buy it
I dare you to keep saying "modgey podgey" from now on.
"You use some Modgey Podgey on this piece. And then after the Modgu Podgu dries, put another coat of Modgilly Podgilly on there!"
Your proxxon fence is not stable at the far end.
And you know it.
I'm surprised you never corrected it.
Yup, tried a bunch of times but it's just always been loose. Can't really fix it, so I just hold it as I push the foam through
The only weak point here is the windows. Instead of black you could cut that part out...possibly adding some hot glue as glass...it would look 10 times better.
I guess nothing saying I can't go back and add them :)
Guys, i legit dont understand why everyone just have to do a reference to Black Magic Craft literally every time you using Mod Podge lol. Its not his unique method, he dont have a patent on this. Like... cmon ppl.
Please....Its MOD podge not MODGE podge PLEAAASE
Mod...
ge Podge.
@@Rybonator baaaaahahahaha!
what you didn't quite call crenelations are actually call buttresses.
Ahh, thank you for that! I am a big goof. I'll correct it next time :)
Modpoge not modgepodge.
Mod podge not modpoge ;p yeah I'm a big dope and have always had trouble with that word lol
There are many similar projects in Woodglut's plans.