A SIMPLE DUNGEON SETUP: What You Need & What To Buy

 

This one picture captures how
many of the below materials are used

Its easy to get caught up in buying an expensive terrain set to run miniatures-based games of D&D or other tabletop RPGs. But through trial, error, and a few con games, I think I have some solid suggestions that make for a good-looking, minimal setup that packs easily.

DOORS: 4 minimum, but 6-8 optimal; it sounds excessive be in dungeons I do find the PC are often able to investigate enough space in a turn to use all eight doors: The one they entered, 3-4 in a room, then opening one of those doors and being about to see 1-2 more; so often 6-8 on the table at a time

COLUMNS: 6-8 wooden thread spools; a common dungeon feature yet I am sure rarely accurately used but, again, are helpful cover

WOOD BLOCKS: 20 seems to work well in combination with dungeon tiles below; I think I picked this up from Questing Beast, but 1in x 1in wood blocks are really versatile as to what they can become in a dungeon: throne, table, collapsed wall, lever, door etc;

BOOKSHELVES: 1-2 bookshelves never hurts because these are often key searchable features; I know it seems very specific, but for some reason its the one thing I often reach for in a room.

ALTER & SUMMONING CIRCLE: One (1) each because they often are focal points for action; not super important because its easy enough to be made or represented by wood blocks, but if you find a nice looking one- its worth the purchase; can be combined with bookshelves for a wizard room or used as a table for a bar

ROCKS: 4-6 rocks you find off the ground or can steal from a planter can make good terrain or denote crumbled walls/statues in a space; good too if you have a large room and want a little more terrain inside

GLASS BEADS: 10-12 in colors blue, green, and 2-3 in red; clumped together its a pool, in a line a river, if its green they could be slimes; red could be status effects or animated blood or just "treasure thing here"

The making of a 30' x 20' cardboard tile;
start to finish shown on one tile (right to left)

CARDBOARD TILES: Like most of the US, you've undoubtedly received an Amazon packed in the last month or if you order some of the above, one or two will be on their way, but instead of throwing it away you can recycle it into dungeon tiles. Sizes I like (assuming 1in = 5ft square):

• 1-2 6in x 6in which makes a 30' x 30' room
• 2-4 6in x 4in which makes a 30' x 20' room
• 4-6 6in x 2in which makes a 30' x 10' room
• 4-6 2in x 2in which makes a 10' x 10' square
• 4-6 2in x 1in which makes a 10' x 5' rectangle
• The last two can be colored black on the back to use as room features

And there you have it! Fully functional modular dungeon terrain that packs pretty light and represents a lot of what you need. Now that you've read the list, scroll back up and see how things are used in the first picture!