Circle of Mist for Ghost Archipelago

A Badger Warden summons a Mist circle for protection from enemies in Ghost Archipelago

Midway through our first game of Ghost Archipelago several weeks ago, my player controlling the Badgers asked, did you make terrain for the Mist spell? I was surprised -- I thought I had gone through the spells each crew chose for their warden thoroughly. I had Mist on the "nobody picked" list, so hadn't bothered to do one yet. Well, after the game, it was pretty obvious that I would have to fix that situation!

Step 1: Create a 4" cardstock circle and cut out the inner part to form a ring (then divide it into 4 pieces)

Fortunately, about the same time, a bottle of pills I opened had a large rectangular piece of cotton fiber. I saved it, and it turned out to be perfect for two of the correct, 4" diameter circles the spell casts. I decided that all I really needed to model was the other perimeter of the spell. The players could imagine the interior also filled with mist -- plus it would make it a heck of a lot easier to game it out!

Step 2: Trace the arcs onto a suitable material for bases, then flock them (here's my "first stage" of flocking)

I began by tracing a 4" circle on a piece of cardstock. I then traced a smaller circle inside of it and cut out the 4" diameter ring. Next, I divided the circle in fourths, since that was my plan. The arcs of each piece, when connected, would create the 4" circle. I figured it would be easier to adjust four pices to the terrain on the tabletop than if it was one solid ring. I took one of the arcs and traced it onto a sheet of magnetic material eight times. Here was where I made a mistake. I should have chosen thicker material. My magnetic material was too thin and warped when flocked, curling up on the edges.

Step 3: Finishing the flocking

I then treated the magnetic material exactly like I do the bases for my miniatures. I painted each with a mixture of brown paint and white glue. I immediately dipped it into a tub of Woodland Scenics Fine Brown Ballast. Once dry, I painted it with a 50/50 mixture of white glue and water, sprinkling on Woodland Scenics Earth Turf. Finally, when dry again, I applied full strength white glue, flocking it with Blended Grass from the same company.

Step 4: Pulling and stretching the cotton to the shape and length needed, then gluing it to each base with white glue

At this point, I took the cotton material (same as in cotton balls, except rectangular rather than spherical) and stretched it out to the thinnest I wanted it to be. It looked like it would be enough, so I made eight pieces of the same size. Then, I drew a thick line of white glue across the arc of the flocked material, pressing the cotton down onto the base and stretching it out to the look I wanted. It required propping it up against something so that it didn't fall over and lay flat. Once dry, I sprayed it with a quick burst of matte finish from each side. This tended to knock the cotton over, but I pulled it back up and it stayed erect. I did this twice for each piece. The spray coating gives it more consistency and strength so it isn't pulled apart. I'll instruct my players to pick it up by the base rather than the cotton mist wall, but it should be strong enough to last.

I liked how it turned out -- much better than a simple circle of white felt or something!