Take Your Game On The Road With Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Cases

Games Take Your Game On The Road With Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Cases Rob Wieland Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I am an author and game designer writing about tabletop RPGs. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Aug 29, 2022, 06:22pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The new Campaign Cases from Wizards of the Coast give Dungeon Masters a portable, modular and . . .

[+] durable way to build encounters for their players to remember. Wizards of the Coast, LLC The chief ingredient to a game of Dungeons & Dragons is imagination. But like any hobby, fans love to spend money on accessories.

Character dice, dice bags, dice sheaths, even fancy character sheets are ways that fans can show their love for the fantasy world they build together. Dungeon Masters have a lot of options for accessories as well. Battle mats, monster minis and other items can help tables envision their epic fantasy fights by bringing them out of the imagination directly onto the tabletop.

These setups can run the gamut from detailed dungeon hallways to simple dry erase grid maps that can be written on and wiped off with marker. Two new releases from Wizards of the Coast offer Dungeon Masters a chance to split the difference between pre-built dungeons and a quick sketch. Campaign Case: Creatures and Campaign Case: Terrain offer a flexible method to build battle encounters in a way that lets tables use some the excellent art that D&D has built over the years.

The company sent both cases for review in this artcle. But before we get to the review, let’s talk about the two main methods for handling fights in Dungeons & Dragons . Some Dungeon Masters use grid combat.

Others use theater of the mind. What’s the difference? Grid Combat Vs. Theater Of The Mind “Theater of the mind” combat is when Dungeons & Dragons battles take place solely in the narrative descriptions of the players.

They all are contributing to descriptions, positioning and reacting to the action taking place. These scenes also tend to be a bit more flexible as players can ask for more details which the Dungeon Master may or may not provide. MORE FOR YOU ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director ‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry Grid combat uses a map that is split into one inch spaces.

Each of these spaces maps to five feet which makes determining things like spell effects and weapons ranges easy. There are pre-set maps that can be purchases as well as blank grip maps that can be used on the fly. Which method is better varies from game to game and Dungeon Master to Dungeon Master.

Pre-set maps also help newer players and Dungeon Masters visualize emeny positions and add a bit of a board game element to the game. But theater of the mind gives players more freedom to come up with cinematic moments that will wow the entire table. My personal preferences are to use a little bit of both.

Theater of the mind combat is best suited for small skirmishes or tavern brawl style encounters that happen out of the natural narrative. But I also like diving into grid maps and cool minis to plan out big set piece battles that are major turning points in the story. The Campaign Cases sit comfortably in the middle between these two ideas.

The cases come with stout handles and magnetic closures. The contents are organized well and also work for Dungeon Masters running games on the road, such as conventions or game stores. Campaign Case: Creatures Campaign Case: Creatures comes with four sets of discs to use in combat.

Color coding lets Dungeon Masters keep monster types organized. The discs can be further customized using clings featuring classic D&D art and swapped out in between encounters. The discs have a nice, heavy feel to them, like poker chips.

The clings are a nice touch that remind me of Colorforms from my childhood, but I think it might be more useful to use the discs and write damage totals or initiative tracks on them directly. The larger discs have been the most useful to me when I include bigger creatures in a battle. Campaign Case: Terrain Campaign Case: Terrain features gridded tiles that can be put together to build out a big dungeon display.

There’s also a fold out map perfect for creating an epic boss battle. This box also uses clings for scenercy such as chairs, trees and treasure chests. The tiles have a glossy finish allowing Dungeon Masters to use dry erase markers if needed for things like spell effects or damage to the scenery.

I have a large collection of older dungeon tiles that work well for these purposes. There’s also fun to be had laying out tiles as players explore a new dungeon or similar area. Campaign Case: Creatures and Campaign Case: Terrain are available now online or from friendly local game stores.

Each case retails at $64. 99. They make a perfect gift for the Dungeon Master who has all the books.

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