In my post about my modular tower system, I mentioned that I still needed to build a way for each level of a structure to be accessed from above and below. This is more of a challenge than it would seem at first glance. How can I achieve maximum flexibility and modularity, without having to make dozens of floor pieces with openings in different shapes and locations? What kinds of stairs, etc. should I consider, given the limited space available inside a tower? Can I build all this in a non-ugly way?
I ended up making some ladders and staircases out of craft sticks and coffee stirrers to start with. Then I used dollar-tree foam combined with a few thin slices of XPS to make straight, curved, and spiral staircases in both wood and stone, this time trying my hand at drawing in some texture on the wooden parts. None of these items were of the full height to reach where the roof above would be, but many will allow a mini to stand on them. This will allow, for instance, simulating a fight up or down a stairway.
Let’s assume some slightly deranged lord has commissioned the building of a pair of towers, but he’s really big on having multiple paths up and down.
Up on the second floor, I needed a way to represent the openings to the floors below, corresponding to the stairs, ladder, etc. beneath – but without having to punch actual holes in my floors. The functional but not-very-attractive solution I’m using for now is rather simple: bits of black-painted chipboard.
I’d like to have been able to make these simulate a third dimension by painting in some image of the stairway below, and I was able to sort of do this for the ladders by adding an additional above-the-floor rung. Even assuming I could overcome my relative inability to paint or draw things that actually look like things, I also couldn’t figure out a way to fake a down stairway that would look good from different angles. So for now, it’s just shaped black bits to indicate to the players where the access points are.
(Yes, that’s a home-made piece of terrain under the towers – more about it in the near future!)