Warhammer Underworlds (including sets like Beastgrave, Direchasm, and Harrowdeep) is primarily played on flat game boards, but adding three-dimensional terrain transforms the visual experience. Whilst terrain doesn't affect gameplay rules, it creates stunning displays and brings the cursed underworlds to life.
Why Add Terrain to Underworlds?
Underworlds uses hex-based boards with printed terrain features. However, many players enhance their boards with 3D terrain that matches the printed features. This creates spectacular visual displays for casual games, narrative play, photography, and tournament showcases.
Terrain for Different Underworlds Settings
Beastgrave: The Living Mountain
Beastgrave is a sentient mountain filled with predatory caverns. Terrain should emphasize organic, cave-like features: stalactites, rocky outcrops, bones, and primitive totems. Earthy colours with touches of the supernatural create the right atmosphere.
Direchasm: The Realm of Beasts
Direchasm continues the bestial theme with more aggressive, predatory environments. Jagged rocks, territorial markers, and signs of massive creatures work well. Consider adding scatter terrain like skulls, bones, and claw marks.
Harrowdeep: Sunken Depths
Harrowdeep takes place in flooded, cursed depths. Water effects, dripping formations, and aquatic details suit this setting. Blues and greens with weathered stone create an underwater atmosphere.
Shadespire and Nightvault: Cursed Cities
Earlier Underworlds settings featured cursed urban environments. Ruined architecture, shattered statues, and ghostly details work brilliantly. Gothic ruins and mystical scatter terrain enhance these boards.
Building Underworlds Terrain
The key is creating terrain that matches the hex board's printed features without obscuring hex boundaries or affecting gameplay. Low-profile pieces work best:
- Scatter terrain that sits within hexes (rocks, debris, small features)
- Edge pieces that define board boundaries
- Objective markers that match the setting
- Thematic centrepieces that don't block line of sight
Painting Underworlds Terrain
Match your terrain colours to the game board for visual cohesion. Study the board artwork and replicate the colour palette. This creates a unified appearance where 3D terrain feels like a natural extension of the printed board.
Display and Photography
Enhanced Underworlds boards make fantastic display pieces and photography subjects. The compact size (typically around 22" × 30") makes them manageable to store and transport, whilst the detailed terrain creates stunning visuals for sharing your games online.
Narrative and Casual Play
Whilst competitive Underworlds uses flat boards for consistency, narrative and casual games benefit enormously from 3D terrain. It enhances the storytelling aspect and makes each warband's journey through the underworlds feel more immersive.
Find rocks, ruins, scatter terrain, and scenic materials in our terrain and scenery collection to enhance your Warhammer Underworlds boards.
