I'm just starting to paint up some miniatures for Descent starting with the Cave Spiders. I haven't done much with the bases for the minis that I painted for other games, usually just using the same dark grey for each, but I do like the look of stylish bases. I definitely want a cohesive look though, and so I had the following idea which I haven't seen done before.
My thought is to paint each monster's base with a design correlating to their Monster Traits. Each side would feature one trait which would merge into the other trait towards the middle. I have developed the following themes for the traits, but would like some input/suggestions on how to best differentiate some of the traits:
The easy ones:
Cold - obviously some ice or snow
Cursed - gravel/dead grass and tombstone
Hot - obviously basalt with a lava flow
Water - um... water
Wilderness - green grass or moss
The similar ones:
Building - a crumbling tile floor - opposed to...
Civilized - a pristine herringbone brick/stone floor
Mountain - sunlit grey rocks - opposed to...
Cave - bluish grey solid rock with a stalagmite? vs more like a mine with dirt floor and scattered wooden/rope supports
No idea:
Dark - I dunno, a black/purplish mist with lightning effect? This one poses a problem for me.
What do you think?