Multi-Level Buildings with Playable Interiors for TABLETOP GAMES

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#BlackMagicCraft #Episode106
In this episode I show you how I approach the subject of interiors on tabletop RPG buildings. I also do a show n tell of some of the buildings I have built over the years including a few two storey buildings.
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[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

How do you guys approach the dilemma of building interiors?

[@jaxonharris5443]

I think you’ve hit the mark with removable walls, i’ve seen walled interiors done before, but limiting your playable space like that seems counterintuitive. Good on ya sir, and i’ll be testing this method out for a modular castle.

[@chickentruck75]

What you think about Dwarven Forge or even the new Kickstarter Rampage by AoD? do you use any of those modular terrain in your games?

[@Antipolicestate]

This is how I do it. Building houses for me is a pain because I don't have a hot wire cutter, and my exacto cuts are never as straight as I would like. This means that all my houses are solid units that do not have any removable parts. I use them to illustrate the discovery of buildings, and the narrative elements surrounding interactions outside buildings. once my players decide to venture inside I build a main floor out of BMC patent pending modular tavern tiles, directly to the right of the model building. if their are other floors (basement, attic, 2nd floor w.e) I put them to the right of the main floor. This gives my players a comprehensive look of the building they are snooping around in, as well as what the outside looks like. If some pesky undead decide to surround said building, moaning and scratchin, looking for a way in, I can show that perspective while the players simultaneously can scramble around the inside.

[@lunn7220]

How can your comment be submitted three days ago, when this video only have been up in 4 hours?

[@larrymanns364]

I use a battle map or narration to describe the interior of my buildings. The building dimensions are not meant to be exact, just a representation to further enhance the playing experience so I can have a building that is only 8"x10" but have a battle map of the interior that is 10"x10"

[@justawfulgamer7738]

False. You are currently building a life-size, playable kitchen.

[@ColonelSandersLite]

1:1 scale!

[@Markovian_]

Definite foam core ceiling

[@mikeelarsen1964]

Your Canadian Critic needs to be a recurring character.

[@richardfortier]

Yesss! Bring back Magnet Hoser!

[@uscmpfcw.hudson9468]

hey wanna go for a rip bud?

[@DJ_Blaker]

A negative Bob and Doug McKenzie

[@patrickkeller2193]

I like to construct my buildings in a sawtooth fashion such that the walls are attached to the roof, but the doors and windows are attached to the floor. This adds more dimension and dynamic to the interrior space than just having a flat rectangle, but it doesn't obstruct much of anything. Also it is a good idea to design all four sides of the house significantly different from each other, that way you can take it off the table, turn it around, put it back on and all players see a completely new building that looks different from the one before.

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

Aside from the extra work to pull that off, I agree this method is ideal.

[@patrickkeller2193]

Yeah, you need to paint the insides of the windows and doors and you need additional braces on the walls, but compared to the overall work it doesn't add that much and It's worth it to me.

[@TriMarkC]

Patrick Keller Never thought of that idea! Thanks!

[@TimLewallen]

I came here to say that and you are 11 months ahead of me. Great idea!

[@m.a.packer5450]

Folks should just be grateful to have a GM who makes miniatures at all

[@mccallosone4903]

dude your models are amazing. you can really see the hardwork and love you put into them. glad you found a way to make a living doing something you enjoy

[@Stratplayer05]

Ey there bud, don't you wanna separately magnetize those building walls and roofs so they can each be removed, eh?

[@jacobhoekman6865]

That's not actually a horrible idea. You could handle them easier and you wouldn't need to keep aligning the building.

[@spip-753]

@@jacobhoekman6865 If you like the idea you should check out RP archive's channel

[@prnzali2010]

I'm dead 😂 Throw saving roll or someone pls cast revive spell.

[@anabathe1149]

I completely agree with you. I'm running a campaign that takes largely place in a city with 10.000 inhabitants. It would be such a hassle to actually build huge multilevel temples, warehouses and homes. Instead I crafted DnDNext-style building fronts to be able to quickly layout streets and squares. If the PCs enter a building I either just go theater of the mind or put out my dungeon/tavern tiles that are a combination of your style and wylochs connectable tiles that I can pre-assemble.

[@ZillaGXLCrew]

I actually made my own set of tiles like yours and I found they worked pretty well. Cool we both thought of the idea of combining the two styles

[@alexbrauner9417]

Are they built in a 2x2 form factor or 3x3? I just bought some 1/2 inch XPS foam and I like the 2x2 over 3x3 but it looks like it would have some weird proportions

[@gregtheredneck1715]

Guess I'm gonna reveal my age but back in my day we just used minis a battle mat and our imagination. That said I must admit that the addition of crafted buildings and the dungeon tiles and such add an extra dimension of cool. Just recently stumbled upon your channel and I love it. Can't wait to see what you come up with next.

[@WhoGivesAFlyingDick]

Majority of people still play like that, I still do. Though if you have the money, the time and the patience to do it adding minis and models to your game are just neat, and your players will appreciate it.

[@joshuaknight6551]

I've used no map no mini. I've used just paper squares on a table with random objects showing cover. I've used maps that need rulers, Drawn 3D looking maps And even online things... I think I have done it all

[@Jackofhearts17]

Doesnt show your age, when we started out it was the floor, legos and imagination. Eventually we got a table and battle mat and minis.

[@mikesmith2905]

For what it is worth I make up sets of 'toy soldiers' for youngsters and usable interiors always go down very well, seems to be a 'human' thing. Working doors (hinged with a scrap of cloth, or for barns and the like with a strip of soft drink can folded over the edge of the door with a paperclip passed through and attached to the building) are also appreciated even though they are hardly ever actually used. To save money (I give my sets away) I use thick corrugated cardboard salvaged from boxes things come in for the walls, covered with newspaper and glue to hide the edges. Sometimes I print up paper wrappers to add exterior detail (that works okay in 20mm) and I also print up a mirror image with wallpaper on it for inside. That extra layer adds strength but adding a book case or a filing cabinet (strip wood with thin card doors) to the corner inside really beefs it up. Kids usually look after them but parents . . .

[@MrWhite5150Duke]

Your buildings are really nice, and I dig the interiors with no walls. Reaching into small buildings with foam walls makes me nervous. Very easy to dent or break something by accident. Especially if we've been drinking. 🍺💨

[@hypersapien]

That two story building is beautiful. I'm not a D&D player, but I am an environment artist and I love the work you do =)

[@Gamarishi]

I really liked the idea of removing the walls with the ceiling, it's a very smart move!

[@SokiHime]

I was looking for anybody who's converted their actual home into a tavern But I found this, and your crafts look AMAZING dude! Not what I was looking for, but certainly interesting and cool

[@norcalonline1]

Brilliant! I'm sold and will forever make my buildings like this from now on. Thanks for the pro tip.

[@SecularMentat]

I really like all your diverse building builds. I'd like to see the two-tired 'inn/tavern' you've got built. I've been wanting to make it for ages.

[@osricwolfing4553]

I draw a whole building front on one side of white cardstock that is roughly index card sized (usually larger), and on the other side I draw a floor of planks, cobblestone, or dirt strewn with rushes. I lay the cards flat on the table side by side, building front side up, with the negative tabletop space representing streets and corridors. When the players go inside the building, I flip the card over and may set down paper furniture and NPCs as the situation requires. It's fun and extremely modular, but obviously not as fine a craft or as realistic as constructing buildings, and the scale is not always precise, but it's good enough for my kids, and it requires them to fill in the gaps with their imaginations. Time/movement is node based and in hour turns, so they hop from one building to another like a chessman to do their thing (interact, trade, eat, craft, rest for HP). If they get involved in a fight, time switches to seconds per turn.

[@sethsybrandy3218]

10:42, "The Doobly-doo," Been watching Colville?

[@TheDMGinfo]

Fricken magnets

[@marshall104]

How do they work?

[@bentosan]

marshall104 Black magic

[@Chill1332]

I am not at all interested in gaming. But I LOVE miniatures. Especially interactive miniatures. and I love to create things. I've always liked to sculpt creatures and characters but I finally decided that they need environments to live it. And the kind of crafting you are teaching is PERFECT. I love all the detail you are able to put into your builds with pretty simple tools. And this method of showing the interior without having to take apart the exterior is something I am SO going to use!

[@carterdoody1]

Man, big fan of your stuff. Have recommended your channel to anyone I know that plays d&d or pathfinder. But I was gonna say man, you should totally cam your game sessions, as it would ve awesome to see these bad boys in action. ( you may have already and I may have simply not found it ) but none the less. Keep the content rolling!

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

Properly recording games requires a crew and more equipment than the channel can currently afford.

[@Khether0001]

you could paint the base to show where are the walls, windows and doors

[@mapembert]

That's an interesting idea. Like 1 board thick on stone.

[@jaxonharris5443]

Man, this series needs to be getting some more love! Big thumbs up from this guy!

[@DireSwift]

Since I like to have some pre-made room layouts what I did was make a handful of interchangeable bases with various designs that all fit into standard building dimensions. It's a little more work but especially in a city based series of encounters inside buildings I don't have to worry about building room layouts on the fly, just set up the few buildings and use the bases that correspond to the area of town they are in. Everything else is the same.

[@bethanygraham427]

Love the idea of having the walls attached to the roof. Genius. Actually I hate "playable" interiors because most buildings we make/use are not really to scale and are too small to do anything meaningful in.

[@robinsteeden7466]

Miniatures bases are the problem. A 28mm on a 1 inch base means they are standing on a circle 5 ft. across. So 4 minis in a ten foot square room have no room to move around. To make miniatures work you have to have oversize interiors. But to fit those interiors then the buildings end up oversized. We use 2.r5 or 3 feet/1 metre to the inch for building interiors but 5' to the inch for exteriors and dungeons.

[@elizabethrowe5960]

Thank you. I've been trying to figure out "granny grating" for most of a week's worth of terrain videos. "Plastic canvas." Yeah, that'll work really well!

[@paulsniadach6909]

Jeremy this video was great!!! Thank you for sharing, this is what I was saying it helps out. Your buildings are fantastic!!!! See you next week sir!!!

[@jamiesykes4745]

I'm obsessed with this channel even though my group does theatre of the mind...

[@michaellavella2377]

Oh man, wish i had seen this last week. Attempted my first building and kept the walls attached to the floors. Guess i know what I'll do for my second building.

[@jacobhoekman6865]

I keep the walls on my buildings but my buildings are stupid huge so it doesn't really matter.

[@ZackWilliamsPANCAKE]

That thumbnail says it all: you know what you did here--took it to the next-- --LEVEL!!!! ;) Seriously though: this video marks the beginning of the next chapter of our hobby and you should be proud of that! Well done, Jeremy!

[@the_wanderer8898]

I've been wondering about that "bump & grind" build since I found your channel and saw it on the self. You have made so many awesome things. Thanks again for sharing your work man.

[@Hiroak]

These are great. I have been following your tutorials to build my wife houses for her Halloween and Christmas village. I have also been buying minis for the people of the village. I haven't played D&D but I'm accumulating a collection.

[@DougCoughler]

May have been said, but the other advantage of removing the walls with the roof is that you can multi-purpose the base. As long as the floor is the same size, and the door is the same location, you only need to make the "cover". If you make the front steps a separate piece, then you add even more flexibility.

[@HerrMatom]

"..in the Doobely-Doos.." Matt Coleville anyone? :) Great Video! I learn so much from you!

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

People have been saying that on KZbin looooong before him 😉

[@HerrMatom]

@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial I dont know, im just watching many of his Videos, and yours. Und my brain made that Connection immediately. Because of you, i want to try soo many things. All kinds of Buildings, and Dungeon Tiles adn what not. Keep up your Work. Your Work is just Amazing and it baffles my mind sometimes. Greetings from Germany and a very Good Day to you Sir. Happy Sunday!

[@turmat01]

Your work is absolutely incredible! I LOVE it!

[@RiverJames1]

DUDE THANK YOU you are so right on with the roof/walls single peice! Thank the gods I watched your video before my own project. I like your base: simple but detailed, thin to be practical but thick enough to give a raised look with the stone facade around the outside like a real foundation. Awesome

[@jacobmccammon5649]

Been scouring for videos on interiors, this was some amazing content ty BMC

[@jeremygard]

Sage advice BMC. I was thinking of building a tavern/inn with playability and this video really clarified things for me. Definately just going to build the footprint first, then the main structure after. This channel has become my go-to for crafting advice. Thank you.

[@kyletomey1094]

This is giving me so much inspiration! I am losing my job this month and I am going to spend some time crafting as I look for something new! This is allowing me to have some peace and hope and I'm so grateful for your showcase as I can use it for ideas! Thanks a lot BMC!

[@chansen999]

Yes yes yes! I’ve been trying to figure out how I want to make some crafted modular towns (I have a ton of 3d printed Fat Dragon stuff I live dearly, but I love the look and feel of handmade, more). This video came at the perfect time.

[@jamessteckel5379]

I was absolutely stuck on my buildings and how much work I was looking at when I got to this video and it turned it from a give-up project to one of my favorites so far. Connect the roof and walls. So simple but smart.

[@Khether0001]

*WONDERFUL* models, man! congratulations! subscribed! thanks for sharing!

[@alexlandsbergs]

been watching your vids the past few days. really inspiring. going to try to make a very small set of common buldings and scenery to start.

[@jeffrichards5106]

Great buildings, and your suggestions make a lot of sense. Although I've always thought about doing the interiors with the walls included attached to the floor. Have to start playing around with foam core. I looked at some store bought buildings, thought about buying them, got a nose bleed when I seen some of the prices! wish to make some of my own and hopefully look at least half as good as your buildings. You do awesome work. Thanks

[@ShadowDrakken]

Really love this solution to playable interiors. Typically see the walls left on the base version, but as you say that's basically in-usable in a real game, just looks nice as a model. I haven't started my collection yet but I'm definitely taking this route.

[@beeezlebub]

I've been waiting to see this!!! Many thanks for all the inspiration!!!

[@sniperlemming]

Oh man, Those buildings are beautiful. I'm so inspired now. I made a couple of houses before but didn't know how to deal with interior and seeing your house bases really fixes that whole problem. I really like that big stone house with the fireplace, the first two story house you showed, i might try and make one like it myself for my games. Do you have any Blueprints / Specs for that building?

[@mancheckitout]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZuXd4mdhsmqbcU specs are similar to this building. Just alter the roof so it's detachable.

[@PhoenixArk123]

Great points about how many surfaces to paint, your approach makes a lot of sense. Also, lovely builds as always.

[@cody4999]

Fun fact, @11:23 the bottom of the floor most likely would have been earth unless the owners were fairly wealthy or could afford the stone. It sometimes used wooden floors, but because they would rot so quickly it became impractical. At least for those styles of buildings.

[@suttonflick4993]

So many great ideas from this video. I don't think I've worked up the courage to try something this detailed yet but I'll try one day! Thank you for the info!

[@troymsmall]

What about the magnets? :-)

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

🤫

[@joshuaknight6551]

No we need to know what can I do with them

[@joshuasinger4649]

I love that you called it the doobliedoo. The two main channels I've been following are you for crafting and Matthew Colville for DM Theory and that's one of the things I've loved about his channel.

[@Klatubarada1979]

Man your building crafts are amazing! Awesome paint job too!

[@thewoodsmen171]

Thanks for this vid, i was working on a house, almost complete and i saw this and it will make my build so much better

[@danielsmith9633]

I still come back to this video for ideas and techniques, thank you !!!

[@mkillian]

This is beautiful. I never use terrain when GMing, and one of the reasons is it always gets in the way. This solves that issue.

[@mm-nt8el]

I learned a lot! Thank you! ❤

[@bitzbox]

These are great! I may have to make some for our upcoming campaign

[@seankrake4776]

I have never made any terrain before, but I intend to when my children are older. I will say that I like how RP archive approaches terrain, because I feel like the modularity of it makes each piece so much more useful, and for playability it’s almost like a legit set. Having fully constructed buildings makes them reusable, but they are fixed as what they are. I like that his walls remove so they can be configured as any number of buildings, and two or three walls can be removed.you still have access, but you can also make and number of buildings. It takes more time per piece, but I feel like after a few months of making smaller pieces, you have more flexibility.

[@johnwhite2412]

Beautiful buildings and great advice

[@jonm8655]

I cannot believe how real these look. I have no idea if i can get that good but you have inspired me to try

[@afield9050]

new to the miniature environment building but have been playing d&d since 1st edition. love your channel and willing to learn

[@devinsawyer3596]

I think that this is the easiest way to produce a playable interior by far! Really enjoyed the brief showcase!

[@sebastiendesautels8567]

I really enjoy this type of video :) Thanks!

[@Sterlin0]

"you don't need to put magnets on everything" i am still laughing now haha XD

[@petertumminaro4528]

Totally agree with footprint only approach!

[@kenshikev]

Came for the building tips, stayed for the Hoser Critic. More please!

[@obi1988]

I really liked the no walls look. Theater of the mind is most of our games. But thanks to you, now i have to build things.. Lol. Love your channel. Very quality work man. All my buildings look like outhouses..or at least what in outhouses..

[@Splatterpunk_OldNewYork]

Well done. Haven't seen this sober look at interiors on youtube before.

[@m.l.6486]

Hey BMC. Many thanks for the video and the showcase. Good luck with your kitchen. Looks also great. ;-)

[@dreadmorg]

Jeremy, this is simply genius!

[@skippyzk]

WALLS AND ROOF THIS IS THE WAY

[@randykowal3397]

This is my favorite mini craft channel.

[@tartan64]

This is great. I was attempting to make the Trollskull Alley Tavern from the waterdeep dragonheist game since i found some great custom maps for each floor and wanted to make them into a model. I honestly handt thought of having the walls come up with each floor as its a 4 story building plus a basement. If i manage to complete the project i will try to post it

[@blu_jgamer939]

Make buildings playable if needed but mostly make them markers. when one wants to enter, you remove the building and have a drawn-on battle map to show interiors. for the 2nd storys, have paper cutouts of interior w/grid to place onto when/if they go up there.

[@EmoGamerMonkey]

Hey mate, I've just got into d&d but used to tabletop warfare years ago. I'm not looking at helping the guy that got me into d&d with map making and sceneryetc. These videos and tutorials are making me drool...stop it, (please dont). Haha this video has solved one problem we discussed of cluttering. Keep up the good work. I'll send you some photos of so stuff I've done once I get round to it. Keep it up pal.

[@TheDraco877]

Beautiful style of how to do this I have been trying to figure out how to do something like this for some time. When I do some new crafting I will be using this.

[@GoodV1bez]

Very interesting hobby. You seem to really have an all around grasp on it.

[@odinfineartcreations9898]

Bro your work is amazing and so inspiring

[@Kevin-Peter]

Wow. Those buildings are all freakin' gorgeous! Reminds me of a Warhammer Fantasy village.

[@johnleach8553]

Great inspiration! Thanks

[@noahtheslowa6915]

"Down in the doobly-doo" I see we have another Matt Colville fan here

[@MurderHoboRPG]

Amazing video as always

[@Zodd83]

almost 20 years I am involved in the miniatures games and I have ALWAYS heard of people screaming they wish a playable inside and NEVER seen anyone using the mentioned inside rooms ingame :D PS: discovered the channel yesterday. I am amused! Keep goin'! (and I am a styrofoam scenery maker too :) )

[@ChancellorLott06]

Holy crap you just blew my mind with this setup. I can't believe I never thought of this. Have you ever crafted furniture or anything like that?

[@squeaky1766]

Thank Saradomin I watched this. Thank you so much!

[@PeterDavoust]

These are really damn cool, man. Good work.

[@chmarnik2]

Awsome project!!

[@danas612]

Great stuff!

[@craigcotter7476]

superb stuff again.

[@mistac5050]

Fantastic video!

[@momchilo4388]

really beautiful buildings!

[@BeansOfStarlight]

i think my favorite is the "Bump and Grind" XD

[@matiasmaluccio6267]

From Argentina. You are amazing! Thanks!

[@jokertim777]

I recently DM'd Lost Mines of Phandelver for some players new to D&D. Our story resulted in a big showdown in Phandelver between the big bad and the players who were inside the mayor's manor. For that session, I built a two-story foam core building because I thought much of the fighting would take place inside the building (I used a removable roof and separate second story). I kept the walls attached to the floors, because door and window placement were key to tactical decisions. The fight ended up taking place outside the building instead, so a "playable interior" wasn't needed after all. Such is the life of a crafting DM.

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

😆😆😆 every time!

[@ImaginationHobbies]

your buildings are amazing! i wish my tabletop world buildings worked like that!

[@ImaginationHobbies]

im thinking of doing some sawing now

[@JennellJaquays]

How to use it videos are nearly as how to build it videos. Thank you Jeremy.

[@CowlickCCM]

Excellent Man. Thanks

[@PrimalEdge]

totally agree with your view. I love TTC'ing and think it really adds to the game. but I was drawn to D&D for it's theater of the mind elemnt.

[@jessclark9725]

I use graph paper to plan my buildings, and even when I don't build the interior (which is hardly ever) I draw a little interior for it, which I can a show my players.