03/10/2026

Happy Tuesday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts!

One of the easiest ways to elevate a tabletop RPG session is by adding terrain to your encounters. Unfortunately, terrain can also become expensive very quickly. For this project, I wanted to see how cheaply I could build a set of Underdark scatter terrain that still looked good on the table.

Using a handful of inexpensive craft supplies and a few basic hobby techniques, I created a set of terrain pieces that work both visually and mechanically during encounters.

Starting with Cheap Bases

The foundation of the terrain started with thin wooden bases I picked up from Dollar General. These were originally seasonal decorations that had been marked down on clearance for just a few cents each.

I cut the wooden pieces into irregular shapes to avoid the “perfect circle” look that can make terrain feel artificial. A quick pass to clean up the edges left me with several natural-looking bases ready for terrain.

Cheap craft-store materials are perfect for this kind of project, and clearance bins are often full of items that can easily become terrain foundations.

Sculpting the Cavern Features

To create the underground feel, I used air-dry Model Magic clay to sculpt small stalagmites on the bases. Model Magic is easy to work with and lightweight, making it ideal for quick terrain builds.

Using a simple clay tool, I added rough texture to the stalagmites so they would resemble natural cave formations once painted.

At this stage, the pieces already started to look like small patches of cavern floor emerging from the darkness.

Adding Mushrooms and Scatter Elements

For a bit of visual interest, I added small wooden mushrooms from Dollar Tree. These were glued randomly around the bases.

Besides adding a bit of color and personality, the mushrooms also serve an important gameplay purpose: they help the pieces function as scatter terrain that can block movement or line of sight during encounters.

Scatter terrain like this is extremely useful because it breaks up large empty battle maps and gives players something to interact with during combat.

Building the Ground Texture

Once the main terrain features were in place, I coated the entire base in a 50/50 mixture of PVA glue and water. While the glue was still wet, I sprinkled on construction sand and small stones.

This step adds a lot of visual interest with very little effort. The mixture dries hard and creates a natural rocky surface that works perfectly for cavern environments.

After letting everything dry completely, the terrain was ready for paint.

Painting the Underdark Look

The pieces were first spray-primed black, which helps create natural shadow in the recesses.

From there, I built up the cavern look using layered blues to give the terrain a dark underground feel. Blues and cool tones work particularly well for cave environments because they help sell the idea of a damp, shadowy space.

The mushrooms were painted with red caps and purple stems, with light blue highlights added to help them visually connect with the surrounding terrain while still standing out.

The Finished Terrain

The finished pieces are simple, but they add a lot of atmosphere to the table. They also serve a practical purpose by acting as obstacles that can influence movement and line of sight during encounters.

Most importantly, the entire project was extremely inexpensive.

Terrain projects like this are a great reminder that you don’t need expensive materials or complicated techniques to build something unique for your RPG table. With a few craft supplies, some creativity, and basic painting skills, you can create terrain that enhances both the look and the gameplay of your sessions.

You can watch the video I recorded while making these scatter terrain pieces:

Keep on gaming!

2026 Goals Progress

• Minis Painted: 131/ 150
• Large Models / Terrain: 6 / 6 – COMPLETE
• YouTube Videos: 4/ 24
• Game Reviews: 3 / 4
• Games Played (TTRPG + Board Games): 0 / 4
• Thursday Drop-Ins Created: 2 / 12
• New TTRPG Systems Tried: 0 / 3
• Shadowdark Mini-Campaign Sessions: 0 / 3
• Shadowdark Release on DriveThruRPG: 0 / 1