Posts are an essential piece of our modular terrain. They not only hold up the walls, but when used correctly, they will also help hold together the tiles that make up the sections of your terrain. There are, however, places where it’s not always so obvious what posts should be used. The most common is the ‘inside corner’ pictured below. This crafting tip is all about how to connect up that corner.
Option 1: Center Posts
There are a number of options here. The first option is to use a center post. Designed to accommodate four corner tabs, the center post will cover the three tabs here just fine. There are two minor downsides to this. First, the lower tile in the picture is not held in place horizontally by the post. There will be empty space that could allow the tile to shift. Using the foamcore biscuits to connect the tile will help with this. The second issue is that the post sticks out at the corner, producing a less aesthetically pleasing build.
Option 2: Side Post + Corner Post
This is a minor quibble, less noticeable in dungeon layouts than buildings, and less noticeable in single-story builds vs multi-story builds. A way to mitigate this is to use a side and a corner post together, rather than the center post. When you do this, opt to place the side post so that it spans the two tiles. This will help with the stability of the layout. The drawback here is that posts tend not to stay perfectly vertical unless supported by walls. You can see in the picture below that there is a gap between the two posts.
If this bothers you, this too can be dealt with by careful choice of wall placement. By fixing walls in the direction the post tilts most, you can support its correct position.
Option 3: Inside Corner Posts
Always keep in mind that papercraft is a great medium for experimenting, and little tricks can be played to make even better solutions. In this case, consider gluing the corner post to the side post! Pay close attention to the direction of the slots before you apply glue. Make sure walls will be able to extend off the newly joined post before it is stuck in place.
This makes a new inside corner post that gives you all the freedom to place your walls while ensuring the post holds your tiles together AND doesn’t extend outside the tiles.
And still, these new types of posts will fold flat, so they will fit perfectly in your side post storage boxes.
Parting Thoughts
The modular terrain system used here, like any modular terrain system you’ll encounter, has strengths and weaknesses. Often times, a weakness is really an opportunity to experiment with paper and glue to find craftable solutions. Papercraft terrain provides building blocks that can be used right off the page to create many wonderful worlds to play in, but it also offers you the flexibility to try new things and make something that might not yet exist!
If you’ve found a creative way to use our paper terrain, send us a photo of your work, and let us know how it worked out in your games. Share it on social media and tag us so we can help spread the word – maybe there are other crafters and gamers out their who can benefit from your experiences! It might just turn into a new Crafting Tip!
