5 things to use as Shadowrun Terrain that you (probably) have right now

1. Shoebox
A shoebox by itself can be pretty useful. Cut some rectangles out of the sides to represent doors, and carefully draw a grid on the inside floor and you've got yourself a pretty decent little office building. If you want to go all out you can even spray paint it gray and draw brick lines around the outside. Or if you're patient and really want to get creative, cut it apart into strips and make skyscrapers.

(Now you're just showing off.)

2. Rocks
Alright, this is a no brainer. To us it's just a tiny pebble, to our miniature little heroes it could be a boulder blocking the entrance to a secret wendigo infested cave. The fact is rocks can be used for all sorts of applications, and they're fairly inexpensive the last time I checked.

(Excuse me sir, do you mind if I play in your miniature rock garden?)

3. Toothpicks/Popsicle Sticks/Twigs and Bark/other woody objects

Did you ever have to build a bridge out of toothpicks or popsicle sticks when you were in grade school? You didn't? Lucky you. But most of us did, and it taught us to use the wonders of our imagination. (those of us who weren't sniffing rubber cement under our desks). Paired with a hot glue gun, rubber cement, or elmers white glue you can pretty much make any terrain you want as long as you have the imagination and the gumption.

(Welcome to my personal hell!)

4. Playdoh

Trust me, when you walk into a Toy's R Us and buy a jar of playdoh you're only as weird as you allow yourself to feel. But on a serious note, Playdoh is one of those things that can work in a pinch. Whether you need to throw a new character into the game and you don't have an extra miniature, or you want to make a nice little shrubbery, it really can come in handy. It may not look as cool as having an actual miniature shrubbery, but this is a role playing game, you're supposed to be using your imagination anyway.

(I wouldn't mind opening that jar of Playdoh... wait... that didn't sound right...)

5. Your old Cellphone Telephone

If you have some scrap electronics lying in your attic or basement collecting dust, then why not bash the living hell out of it. (serves it right for being inadaquate by todays standards). Alarm clock, old camcorder, zune, or anything made 6 months ago or older? Unscrew it, pull out the insides, and make a little matrix kiosk, or a cyclops robot street samurai. The microchips and boards can be placed in your shoebox buildings to represent computers, maglocks, or security systems.

("When I told my interior decorator I was into computers she just went with it.")

Don't just take my advice, use your own imagination and start deconstructing the things around your home. Pair any of these ideas with a Shadowrun terrain map and you're well on your way to having a sweet visually stimulating game sesh.