Venture Into The Wildlands With Dwarven Forge’s Next Kickstarter
June 17, 2020 by brennon
Dwarven Forge has been showing off some teasers of their next big Kickstarter campaign. A bunch of awesome new tiles for your dungeon delving and roleplaying are on the way with their Wildlands designs.
Wildlands Preview Image // Dwarven Forge
Here is the rundown of what you have to look forward to with this upcoming campaign...
"Noxious swamp quagmire, Jagged mountain passes, Eerie forest trails, Countless terrors and lethal challenges lurk within these untamed wilds. Will you survive long enough to discover the ancient magic secrets they hide?"
The terrain from Dwarven Forge has always been on the more expensive side but you can't deny just how fantastic it looks. If you're trying to create an absolutely amazing tabletop for your dungeon delving adventures then these folks know how to make it look the bee's knees.
The wild and twisted trees, rocky outcrops, ravenous plantlife and watery swamps are all something I am keen to see in more detail. I know for sure that if I had the money to do it, I'd be spending it on stuff like this for a permanent set-up!
What do you think of the Dwarven Forge range?
"I know for sure that if I had the money to do it, I'd be spending it on stuff like this for a permanent set-up!"
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Dwarven Forge Terrain… the only terrain that makes GW terrain look cheap by comparison.
Tabletop World: “hold my beer” 😉
They are expensive, for sure. But Dwarven Forge is still more expensive, at least all the newer sets are.
Pricier than Tabletop World. Crikey.
$50 dollars for what amounts too a single story hut that is 4 inches by 4 inches, with a roof.
$127 dollars for starter sets with enough tiles to cover 8 inches by 12 inches.
On top of that, huge shipping fees. It adds up very fast.
Sure, Tabletop World is expensive. But you usually are only buying one piece as a center piece thing for a table. Maybe two.
Dwarven forge tends to add up very fast.
Let’s us look at a few things.
Tabletop World – Cottage – 28.50€ ($32.05) Size = 9 × 13 × 11 cm (3.5 x 5.1 x 4.3 in)
Dwarven Forge – Classic Dungeon Remastered Core Set – **Painted** – 88.02€ ($99) Size = 20.32 x 40.64 cm (8 x 16 in)
There is a Netflix Documentary, unsure if it is still available, about Dwarven Forge. Everything they make is done by hand. They sculpt by hand, they mold by hand and they do their own painting. Nothing is mass produced in China. The Tabletop World Team is also the same. They do everything by hand including making the molds. These items are not mass produced on a 3D printer or some place in China which is why when items go out of stock they are out of stock for very long times.
Contrast this with some MDF/HDF kits that are cranked out by a laser and flat packed and sent to you which cost about the same. Those kits are mass produced often have fitment issues and have fun painting them to look good.
Resin is also not cheap, and both use resin to make their items. At least for Dwarven Forge I have seen on various forums if something they make breaks, they just replace it no questions asked.
Are these items expensive? Yes, but they are quality items. If you are really into DnD just like some people who are really into 40K and that is all they play, then Dwarven Forge has a lot of value for something you are using all the time. For Tabletop World, people are using those pieces to make some high quality Dioramas that might be even used in Tabletop Gaming. My brother is into railroad modeling and I would never use some of the trees that are on his layout. They are amazing. They trunks of the trees come from a specific type of tree where the branches look like mini pine trees and you swear the tree was purpose grown to that mini size. They are very expensive, but I would never use them in my war games because I would be afraid to break them.
For Tabletop Wargaming or casual gaming, these high quality pieces may not have value. I myself am happy to 3D print both my dungeons and Tabletop houses. The quality does not compare but I do not care as I could just as use a box to represent a house on a table but 3D printing gives me some nice looking terrain pieces but will NEVER be at the same quality as someone who hand made an item. Even a lot of the foam houses I see being made look amazing, but still not the same as TableTop World.
My point being, you are paying for high quality pieces not mass produced items and high quality costs more. Honestly, I wish I could afford all the high quality items and envy those who can but at the same time happy with my 3D items because that is what I can afford and makes my game play more enjoyable.
What has this got to with anything?
The above discussion was about pricing, not quality.
Honestly, who cares how much hand craftmanship goes into something or how high quality it is… if you can not afford to buy it at a reasonable cost. Especially given the nature of the dungeon tile system, which is marketed towards multiple purchases for variation and different builds. Tabletop World is more along the lines of picking up one or two center pieces for your tables, so fills the niche market well. Dwarven Forge does not, as it is more of a system of tiles then single purchases. And way to expensive for what you actually get.
Also, Dwarven forge does not use resin anymore. They have not used resin for years as far as I know. They use a PVC blend, branded dwarvenite. And yes, as far as I know… all of Dwarven forges stuff is made in china. Your information is clearly out of date.
> 3D items
Wonder how soon we’ll get until 3D printing is as good or close enough to terrain and miniatures. Hero Forge has shown that many players will want custom miniatures that are not available on the market.
> For Tabletop Wargaming or casual gaming, these high quality pieces may not have value.
I got the impression that DF collectors (or at least some of their customers) use the pieces for dioramas. Some will only buy painted miniatures (eg. Tiny Furniture). That’s definitely not just a niche market, but one that’s willing to spend a lot of money for expensive pieces. In the long term, I don’t know how sustainable this business strategy will be. But, in the short term, it distinguishes DF from all the other less expensive terrain options out there, particularly thanks to KS, 3D printing, and now WizKid’s “half-walls” terrain sets.
During DF’s first cavern KS, the average funding per backer was over $500. During their second KS, the average funding was over $1000. Somebody’s willing to pay a lot of money…!
they do make some fabulous scenery.
I love their stuff and own a lot of it but I had to stop a couple of kickstarters ago – I really wish I had that castle though. I have used the City Builder in my Rangers of Shadow Deep campaign (Lothar’s Expendables) and it looks great. What I love is the configurability and flexibility, plus the cleverness of their design. Gotta love a magnetic dragons head that sticks to the wall of your inn, next to the tankards!
I’ am a selective collector of it now though, the shipping is the killer now they no longer have a UK distributor for their newer sets.