(Review) Dungeon Depths Terrain Crate by Mantic

Everyone on social media finds contests popping up all over the various platforms.  You know the method:  Like this post, follow us on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/etc, and share it with a million of your friends, and each action gets you an entry to win a free trip for seventeen to Disney, a free cruise, trip to the moon, or a cheap t-shirt.  Most of these involve tens of thousands of people, and many reek of fake accounts.

Anyway, even with the legit ones, you never know the person that actually wins.

Until now.

I followed the basic guidelines posted on ACD Distribution's Facebook page for a contest sponsored by them and Mantic Games, and whaddya know, I was one of two winners pulled!

The prize?  The Dungeon Depths set from Mantic's Terrain Crate line

My copy arrived from Canada last week, right after Historicon, so between recovering from that and some craziness at work, I finally got around to properly peruse the contents.

Disclaimer:  I mentioned this product when its Kickstarter launched last year.  I re-read the post and continue to agree with the points and concerns I brought up.

Terrain Crate is Mantic's response to the demand for cheap yet sturdy options to fill our tabletop.  The Dungeon Depths box contains 73 pieces for a $79.99 MSRP.

The pieces are packed in two trays stacked on top of each other, plus a number of smaller items collected in a baggie.

Despite the semi-custom slots for pieces, between my kids and the Canadian Mail/USPS, there were a number of items at the bottom of the box when I pulled out the trays.  No damage, No issues.

Pulp Figure and Reaper figures used for scale comparison.

The pieces are a hard plastic in brown, gold, and gray.  The plastic immediately reminds me of Heroquest scenery: very solid for furniture, borderline flimsy (at least bendable) for the thinner items.

Treasure!

I've had plenty of scenery/terrain options through the years.  I've had Dwarven Forge and Geo-Hex and certainly had pieces that I had absolutely no use for, so it's no surprise that not all 73 pieces float my boat.  But the furniture, coin piles, and a number of the smaller items will immediately find a use in my Pulp game.

Barrels, and Tables, and Crates, oh my!

Like I said when I mentioned this Kickstarter previously, my needs  have easily changed.  In a non-contest setting, I would still be interested in picking up smaller sets of items, even if they were a higher cost per piece.

Traps, Mirrors, and Throne room dressings!

The set is well-done, the pieces well-made, and has caused a great dilemma on my already backed-up painting queue.  Each piece has enough detail for a very nice paint job, but would still look great with a basic coat.

The Tiny Suff!

Just in case, here's the run-down all the cool stuff in the set:

• 1 Brown Cabinet
• 2 Brown Candlesticks
• 2 Brown Piles of Books
• 1 Brown Parchment
• 1 Brown set of Candles
• 1 Brown set of Potions
• 1 Brown Ladder
• 1 Brown Desk
• 1 Brown Comfy Chair
• 1 Brown Mirror
• 1 Brown Orrery
• 1 Brown Owl on perch
• 1 Brown Scrying Pool
• 1 Brown Wooden Round Table
• 2 Brown Wooden Rectangular Tables
• 2 Brown Wooden Chairs
• 2 Brown Wooden Stools
• 2 Brown Wooden Benches
• 2 Brown Debris Barricades
• 2 Brown Piles of Debris
• 2 Brown Skulls
• 2 Brown Braziers
• 2 Brown Wall Mirrors
• 1 Brown set of Tankards
• 1 Brown set of Bowls
• 1 Brown Rat
• 1 Brown Rat Swarm
• 1 Brown Lever
• 1 Brown Trapdoor
• 1 Brown Blade Trap
• 1 Brown Posion Gas Trap
• 1 Brown Spike Trap
• 1 Brown Ladder
• 1 Brown Carpet
• 1 Brown Tapestry
• 2 Brown Fancy Chairs
• 1 Brown set of Barrels
• 1 Brown Pile of Crates
• 1 Brown Pile of Logs
• 1 Brown Crate
• 1 Brown Coffin with removable lid
• 1 Brown Iron Maiden/Sarcophogus
• 1 Brown Skeleton
• 1 Brown Mummy
• 1 Brown Torture Rack
• 1 Brown Torture Table
• 1 Brown Surgical Tray Table
• 1 Gold Plinth
• 1 Gold Crown
• 1 Gold Goblet/Plate
• 1 Gold Sword in Stone
• 1 Gold Pile of Chests
• 1 Gold Pile of Armour and Weapons
• 2 Small Gold Piles of Treasure
• 2 Large Gold Piles of Treasure
• 1 Gold Coin Pouch

One thing that this promotion has done for for me is to look out for additional Terrain Crate items (The Campsite in particular).  I may not need all these items, but I do know what's a deal.

The biggest drawback is pretty obvious.  $79.99 is not chump change, but then again, neither is the cost of a rulebook.  While I come from the minis optional 1e/2e AD&D, there are plenty of GMs laying battlemaps every game night, and these are great additions to their tables.

So, with my concerns regarding price and utility of the pieces, I happily give Dungeon Depths four out of five gnomes.

Even if this big set isn't for you, the smaller sets might catch your eye.  I'm definitely interested in looking for the Library and Campsite sets, and can't wait to get this stuff painted up....  my lead pile just added a lot of plastic pieces.

Of course, many thanks to ACD and Mantic for sponsoring the contest.