Adventure the Length and Breadth of a Two Dimensional World

April 30, 2022

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I am always looking for inspiration to do something other Game Masters are not especially when gaming with my kids. In addition I like incorporating my gaming supplies into the game at the table. One idea I had originated from my son’s love of Minecraft and LEGO. What if there was a place where everything was literally made of blocks and everything had 90 degree edges?

How deep can a world without depth go?

The concept of round or curved was supremely alien to the inhabitants of the place. We played several sessions in this world and eventually they got out and went back to exploring a more traditional fantasy world.

In another example I took my players in a streamed game into the Beard Dimension. This has gone from more than an inside joke to three full products and at many posts about this concept here on the website. A world of hair and hair themed elements was a lot of fun to explore.

Recently I was inspired to go into another dimension. What if we explored the concept of a two dimensional world? This happened in an episode of Futurama and the characters faced a challenge of being used to seeing left, right, up and down but this was not always the case in their circumstances. If everything was viewed as a side scrolling game you might not be able to push past an ally to get somewhere. If you could not go under or over you would be stuck. In a 2D world would there be places for creatures to hide because they literally could be in a crack?

I started exploring this concept when I was looking at all the options for flat minis. With pawns and flat minis you can easily slip into a wallet or pocket travelling with your character has never been easier. Up to this point as far as I am aware the method has always been getting a set of figures and hoping there is one to fit my character well enough. “Well enough” is not perfect. How would you like to know you can design your perfect 2D mini and have it delivered to you at an affordable price? Our friends at Hero Forge are back it exploring new ways to serve gamers and collectors out there.

Hero Forge now offers acrylic standees. You can design your character from the ground up using all the basic and advanced tools of the 3D mini complete with color and accessories. Rather than printing in three dimensions you’ll find a new Buy option for Color Standees printed on thick acrylic plastic. Standees come with their own base. The price starts at a low cost of $12.99 and each XL piece you add only ups the price by $2 instead of the usual $5. This lowers the threshold even more on getting the awesome pieces you fall in love with while playing with the Hero Forge tools. Go check out Hero Forge and see all the new options they have as new options get added every Tuesday. What are you hoping they add next?

Back to looking at a 2D world. What are the issues you foresee when bringing items from a 3D world into a 2D world? In my block world all the people the party interacted with marveled at the roundness of the adventuring party and their belongings. You could determine everything works simply as it should for three dimensional folks and they could break the left-right motion while the natural inhabitants could not.

To really challenge the players they have to confine themselves to the laws of the new world. I would ask a few questions to figure out what I would do with this world. I would look at food, movement and perception. How do each of these function for the people coming to the world and figure out everything else on the fly as it comes up or doesn’t. Should you make anything fun for your 2D world such as an awesome mini from Hero Forge and you want to use it again in a 3D world it can always become an animated spell effect or an animated stained glass window, either as a spell or trap. I always look for ways to repurpose the stuff I design and make. What do you think of a 2D world?

Thanks for reading. Until next time, stay nerdy!

*Featured image — The devs at Hero Forge have alchemized a new printing material! Manifest your unique characters as a striking acrylic standee! All acrylic standees are precision-cut to your exact design and fully customizable in Hero Forge’s character creator. Standees are 30mm scale and will fit right alongside your mini collection. Mix up your materials and see your hero in a new light!