Review of Epix Haven AS : 28 Miniature Terrain : Tudor House

"You meet at a tavern."
"Your horses are tired, and as night falls, you see an inn approaching."
"As you enter, you feel the welcoming warmth of the tavern. As find your way in, eyes look on you, then return to their business"
"The bard picks up her instrument and begins singing a song of travel and other stories."
"You sit down an gamble, losing a some of your coins, and drinking away some more."
"You glance at the comely wench, as she serves you your mead and stew. She smiles in return."
"As you relax for the night, an old man in a hooded cloak approaches your party."

For a location that's so important in a roleplaying game, you'd think gamers would actually own a 3D miniature terrain of an inn or taven. Maybe you own a few sets of game tiles. Or a Battlemap. Exotic dice. Unusual and exotic miniatures. Another fantasy roleplaying, miniatures, or other gaming system. Splatbooks you aren't using. So why not some miniature terrain of the commonly used inn?

The Epix Haven 28mm Tudor House is a prepainted two-story house made in solid resin. Parts include a first floor, second floor, roof, chimney, stairway, and small entrance step. The footprint of the model is about the size of a sheet of paper. Its height is about the same as the short end of a piece of paper. The tudor house also comes with a generous foam storage box, for safe storage and transport. At over $125, it's not inexpensive, but it's certainly a good alternative for your gaming money, costing less than three or four Dungeon and Dragon supplements.

First impressions are important, and the roof is one of the most splendedly prepainted pieces of miniature terrain I have ever seen. Painted in a greyish drybrush, the shingles of the roof are individually visible, and you can see each brick in the chimney. Removing the roof, you can even see that the underside has been painted. The walls are a creamy white, and timber frame a dark brown. The walls have molded light brown streaks to show the wear and age of the building. The stairpiece, painted in the same colors as the house, has its own utilitarian character, including non-moving doors for storage. The first floor is a 4x6 1" grid imposed on a wooden floor. The second floor has a 5"x7" grid, with two additional squares near the distinctive overhanging window. Windows and the entrance door are painted on.

Unfortunately, past the first impressions, some painting problems are noticeable. The wood of the second floor of my model was more glossy and darker than the first floor. Also, some of the dark brown paint of the timber was painted on the white paint of the rest of the walls and vice-versa, though this was upon inspection close up. RPG taverns and inns typically have the drinking and carousing on the first floor, limiting RPG play space to the 4x6 grid of the first floor. With both a staircase to the second floor and a tavern bar, there's not much room for the typical expanse of tables a larger tavern would have. When used as a modern-day house, say, for a Call of Cthulhu location, walls are missing, particularly for second-story bedrooms. Though not a fault of Epix Haven, I've found it difficult to find RPG furniture, such as beds, and only recently has medieval furniture become easier to purchase through KickStarter. (Miniatures on the first floor: furniture by Johnny Lauck, barbarians from Ral Partha (out of business). Miniatures on the second floor: resin pieces by Secret Weapon Miniatures, beds by TerraWorld (out of business).)

The miniature terrain, of course, can also be used for miniature skirmish games. Like the miniatures, you will want to use a game mat and some tree or shrubs to use alongside the tudor house. Even inside, you can have a small brawl or two. (Outside terrain: Game mat by Noch, Tiles by RAINN, and resin miniatures by Itar's Workshop (out of business).)

Finally, though it may not be obvious, you can reuse the first and second floors as additional floors for the tudor house. For example, if you put crates and barrels on of of the floors, treat the staircase as leading up, and ignore the walls, you now have a basement. You can likewise use the first and second floors as additional floors in the house itself.

Overall, while smaller than I'd like and needing some harder-to-find miniatures, the Epix Haven Tudor House should fit well your RPG and miniature gaming needs. It's a high-end product, but you'll use it more than other expensive items in your RPG budget.