How should I create a Heroica scale graveyard or crypt room?

Question

I've recently started playing Heroica with my sons, and we want to take this further, so I'm looking for some suggestions on modelling a graveyard or crypt room.

As an example, here's a model of the official "study" element on a 6x6 plate:

Heroica Study Piece

In general, each room is designed to sit on a 6x6 or 8x8 plate, and will have path elements on it for the characters and treasure to be placed.

score 13 · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-10T19:29:31.537

13

Crypts don't offer a lot of color possibilities, I think, so I'd try to take an approach using texture. Replacing bricks with plates, and then some of the plates with 1x1 round plates or empty space gives a "broken stone" feel.

Obviously, crypts also need coffins. You can use a 1x2 plate with a 1x2 tile on top for a closed one, or a 1x1 tile and 1x1 plate and put a slightly angled 1x2 tile on top to give the impression it's been opened.

Broken-down wall in front, coffins on the far side.

You can try making a few "entrances" as a stone roof supported on pillars. Again, there are some 1x1 round plates to give a hint of a carved relief along the top.

Another common bit of crypt imagery is a catacomb with endless recesses carved into the wall for bodies. A 2x1 plate sandwiched between two 2x2 plates gives a similar effect, and there are several options for what to put in the blank space - or just leave it empty.

A stone arch with pillars, and a wall with a small recess.

For the end I'd imagine a fancy raised altar where the necromancer / lich / mummy / etc. is. Some bright colors here will really stand out even if the build is simple.

High altar on an 8x8 brick with a gold pedestal; on top is a red gem.

For a graveyard outside the crypt, I'd use a combination of the same arches, some simple gravestones, and some of the tall, thin trees from Fortaan. Using some 1x2s with 1 stud you can get a good gravestone layout.

Five gravestones on a 6x6 forest space.

edited Nov 10 '11 at 19:29

answered Nov 10 '11 at 18:02

These are great - I'd almost wished they were separate answers so then I can upvote them all ;) – Zhaph - Ben Duguid Nov 10 '11 at 18:19
Neat, but seriously, it needs a spider - no graveyard is complete without a spider. – Joubarc Nov 10 '11 at 19:03
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@Joubarc: Spiders are actually a standard Heroica monster, so I didn't feel a need to add them. :) – Nov 10 '11 at 19:13
Come on... It needs slime creatures. – Nathan Nov 10 '11 at 19:19
I'll need to check these games someday. (Honestly, I haven't been that impressed by the other LEGO games so far) – Joubarc Nov 10 '11 at 19:40
@Joubarc: As written they are definitely aimed at the 8-13 crowd. But there's enormous room for variant rules to make them more difficult and add depth. – Nov 10 '11 at 19:45
My sons (4 & 6) have been really enjoying the main Fortaan set, including playing as the monsters :) They're certainly better than some of the smaller games, although we've also really enjoyed Minotaurus – Zhaph - Ben Duguid Nov 10 '11 at 20:09

Joubarc · Answer 2 · 2011-11-11T09:29:11.810

5

Here is my first take on a graveyard. The graves aren't too great, as the fence is what I wanted to show all along. In case it's not obvious, it's attached to a Brick 1 x 1 with Stud on One Side and then it's jumper-plate-jumper-plate-tile. Unfortunately, that doesn't actually work¹ (that's one of the drawbacks of LDraw modeling, it won't tell you)

Heroica graveyard with impossible fence

So if you need fences, you could use something like this, but I don't like it that much:

Heroica Graveyard with telescope fence

And since I'm determined to show fence ideas (I can't figure decent tombstones), I can also propose these two (which would probably both be rejected by LEGO quality as they stress parts):

Heroica Graveyard with grille fence Heroica Graveyard with lattice fence

One other solution is of course a simple wall:

Heroica Graveyard 6x6 with wall

And finally, this is another take on the 8x8 plate:

Heroica Graveyard 8x8

^{1. Why it doesn't is left as an exercice for the reader. Should be easy.}

edited Nov 11 '11 at 09:29

answered Nov 11 '11 at 08:02

Joubarc

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Why's that not going to work? You've also got some 1x1 plates in there? Looks good to me. – Zhaph - Ben Duguid Nov 11 '11 at 08:35
I'll be honest, it took me some time to understand why too, so I'll let you search :-) – Joubarc Nov 11 '11 at 09:30
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Is that jumper fence supposed to use 1x1 plates? If so, wouldn't it require a 1x1 plate with a hole in the stud? – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Nov 11 '11 at 13:34
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@Zhaph-BenDuguid My guess it that the 1x1 can't connect to the 2x1 in the middle as they don't have hollow studs. – Pubby Nov 11 '11 at 14:32
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Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 and Pubby8 are correct, a 1x1 plate with a hollow stud doesn't exist. There is a Plate, Round 1 x 1 with Open Stud which would be a suitable replacement, but it exists only in white. – Joubarc Nov 11 '11 at 15:08
Yeah, good catch there. The other option would be 3614 Plate 1x1 Round with Towball, but that's not ideal either: http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/3614 – Zhaph - Ben Duguid Nov 11 '11 at 15:13
@Zhaph-BenDuguid yes, but doesn't exist in black either – Joubarc Nov 11 '11 at 15:25
True, just "old grey" – Zhaph - Ben Duguid Nov 11 '11 at 16:03
Forgot to mention - the Fortann set actually comes with a fence peice - http://peeron.com/inv/parts/30055 – Zhaph - Ben Duguid Nov 14 '11 at 09:56
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Using fence elements to make fences? Where's the fun in that? – Joubarc Nov 14 '11 at 10:49
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@Joubarc: That's the spirit. Great idea for building fences in this answer. Using finished molded fence bricks takes the fun out of it. You could of course use a 1x1 without stud on the first one, and just have the last 3 part bit standing loose (don't breathe...) – awe Sep 11 '12 at 11:33
I only just realized that the first version isn't impossible to build any more, since there is a new version of the jumper plate which allows for a regular stud to be connected in the middle of the underside. Yay! – Joubarc Jan 20 '14 at 11:03

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 28 '12 at 18:53

The official set Heroica Ilrion (3874) takes place in a sewer leading to a crypt with a vampire boss and altar set-piece:

Vampire microfig in the Ilrion final boss room

It has also added coffins, using a 2x1 plate with a jumper on top (mechanically they're treasure chests that have a chance to spawn enemies):

Bat on top of a coffin

How should I create a Heroica scale graveyard or crypt room?

3 Answers3