Malifaux playing board - suggestions please

[thetang22]

I decided recently that I'm going to start working on a playing board for Malifaux. I plan to make the area 3' x 3'. I want to go with the Victorian Gothic metropolis theme to simulate the thick of the city of Malifaux. I'm investing in some Hirst Arts Gothic Architecture molds for this process.

I don't plan on having everything be permanently attached. Instead I want to make some ground sections that are about 1' x 1' and look like a variety of bricks and gothic flooring tiles. I will probably try and make some streets built into it, maybe with one simulating the town square with a big fancy fountain. I want all my buildings a structures to be separate from the ground as well for added customobility.

So...where do I go from here? What types of buildings and structures should I have in a Malifaux metroplis-looking area? Hirst has plans for some pretty neat looking gothic towers and cathedrals so I'll most likely utilize that stuff, but I'm also wondering what else I might need to fill the atmosphere.

Any suggestions and information would be much appreciated.

* just a reminder, this isn't in the Beta thread, so anyone involved with the Beta, don't give anything away if you have ideas. Thanks

[gregdorf]

I really do not a see the large cities of the world of Malifaux having a strong Gothic feel. There will be sections of the older cities that will have gothic elements but during this time Art Nouveau and impressionism are the biggest impact on architecture.

As building suggestions you can make cobble stone streets fairly easy, it just takes some time, heavy card stock paper, and glue. Most of the cities should have gas light lamps, which should not be too hard to replicate, I think a little mod on street lights for train kits should work out well.

[redstripe]

Just something to think about, who built the city of Malifaux is currently unknown. It's not even clear whether it was humans who built the city.

New cities built on the frontier would definitely be influenced by the artistic styles of the time, such as Art Nouveau and Impressionism. That would be why there is very little gothic architecture in the real-world americas.

The City of Malifaux predates these styles by a sizable margin and would have more in common with Old World architecture than to comparatively new artistic styles. I would say Malifaux has more in common with London architecture than say San Fransisco, for example.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Earth of the Wyrd universe is not the Earth we know from our own history.

[thetang22]

Victorian London is the time period I'm going to use for my Malifaux metropolis simulation. It has lots of Gothic architecture influences, so I think that will be ok for me as far as using the Gothic molds from Hirst Arts.

I'm not really needing suggestions on 'style' so much as buildings, examples of structures and architecture that might sound relevant for the downtown metropolis areas of Malifaux. Would it be full of shops, or would it be more like buildings for authorities/government/military. And would there be any odd types of buildings?

[Keltheos]

You'd be safe with Victorian style.

As far as what's on the board? I'd go with whatever you liked. I'm sure we'll find Mal has shop districts, government locations/residence areas, etc.

Odd buildings might be the randomly placed 'Mal style' that existed before the Breach opened, or a throwback to the first opening a century ago (compare 1700 architecture to late 1800/early 1900 architecture to see how the styles might intermingle).

I see some of the older buildings being entirely constructed of stone/brick (or at least the foundations/first floors) while newer construction would be mostly wooden. According to the Ezine (at the moment) Earthsiders have only been expanding the city of Mal and the surrounding areas for about 4 years, so anything constructed since then would have most likely been done as quickly as possible.

I also see the city of Mal as a mishmash of architectural styles stacked one on top of the other and side by side with old construction sharing walls with new construction when expedient to do so.

Oh, and plenty of alleyways...

(at least that's my read).

[gregdorf]

I just wanted to remind him that there are many other building styles during this time period and gothic is not being built anymore. Part of me has been burned out with everything GW having to be gothic.

[Keltheos]

I just wanted to remind him that there are many other building styles during this time period and gothic is not being built anymore. Part of me has been burned out with everything GW having to be gothic.

Nedz Moar Skulz.

[thetang22]

I just wanted to remind him that there are many other building styles during this time period and gothic is not being built anymore. Part of me has been burned out with everything GW having to be gothic.

I can understand your concern with the saturated feeling of Gothic style from GW. I, however, don't really stay up on anything GW does...I've seen a few pieces of architecture they do. In WF it seems like they do a bit more of the traditional medieval fantasy architecture you'd expect, and then with 40k they do a bit of the gothic stuff, but its always gothic ruins that I've seen - not a whole intact building, or in this case buildings grouped together on a city block or at a busy intersection.

I rarely ever see game tables set up in a gothic metropolis where all the buildings are still intact and suitable shape. Its always ruins. Thats not what I necessarily want to do. I want to produce a downtown area with lots of big buildings that are still in good shape - to represent the area of Malifaux where things have picked up and business is good. The closest thing I can think of that GW has done was Mordheim, which isn't too far off from the style, but still, it was lots of ruins as well. I'm not interested in the ruins.

[Hinton]

I'm currently working on a lay-out of the city of Malifaux. I'll get together with Nick over the next couple of days and see what ideas we can come up with as far as the architecture of the city.

[thetang22]

Just a few extra questions: I imagine these buildings have seen some wear and tear over the years and that when the Guild came back through and started inhabiting the city again did they just try to expand, or would there have been any heavy restoration in some of the more upscale areas such as government-type buildings? Would we see all these buildings with lots of beat up architecture, or would it be back in pretty nice shape? Again, I'm referring to some of the more upscale areas (thats probably my first target for construction).