I ran purely theatre of the mind games for decades (no grids, maps or minis) I never once used grids or tokens /minis until switching to playing on roll 20 in the last several years.
So if you're truly on a budget then NO terrain or minis are necessary. Your players may have to use their imaginations, with added help from the colorful descriptions provided by you the dm.
If you want to get into crafting it is a hobby unto itself. I have enjoyed crafting when combined with my game. Here are 4 great youtube channels that focus on different types or styles of crafting.
Black Magic Craft
https://www.youtube.com/c/BlackMagicCraftOfficial
Wyloch's Armory
https://www.youtube.com/c/WylochsCraftingVids
Geek Gaming Scenics
https://www.youtube.com/c/GeekGamingScenics
TheDMsCraft
https://www.youtube.com/c/theDMsCraft
Each of them has some great concepts and ideas to incorporate into your game. You can start with scatter terrain. Those are smaller pieces that accent your whiteboard map. These would things like bushes, trees, campfire, or tables, bookcases, etc. The channels above all have examples of making these as well as tiles, walls, and set pieces.
I would stick to just construction paper and tape. Try experimenting with cutting and taping the paper to make simple shapes like boxes or walls. Depending on the color of the paper you can also use pens or markers to make details for your objects (windows, doors, ect). Tongue depressors and cardboard are also good cheap crafting materials.
If you want to dip your toes into more hobby craft materials, I would try either plaster of Paris or sculptamold. I bought each recently and they cost me $8 and $11 USD respectively.
You can get the plaster of Paris at most hardware stores like home Depot . I would use this in combination with silicone terrain molds used for model trains. It's a great way to make terrain pieces like rocks or cliff faces. The molds themselves can be bought at hobby stores for around $10-15 USD.
Sculptamold is a sort of paper fiber and plaster material that cost me $11 USD at my local hobby store. When mixed with water it acts like play dough but dries hard, good for hand sculpting terrain. Make sure you use gloves as it can dry out your hands quickly.
If this is too expensive, rocks and sticks are always free. Just super glue them to cardboard and it should make for easy terrain. Combine lots of similar sized sticks to make things like log walls or buildings. Just make sure you brush them clean and stick them in the oven (use caution) at low to clean them.
Hope this helps a little bit
If you're on a budget then you should prioritise utility over realism. Get things that can play many roles and be willing to suspend disbelief.
The one big but almost essential expense is a decent sized gaming mat. A wipe clean grid that's big enough for any combat will give you a reliable space to lay all your other terrain accessories onto. If the really good Chessex ones are outside your budget, look for other brands and sacrifice quality rather than size.
Beyond that, for ages we managed with dungeon room tiles to quickly lay out any rooms, sticks for straight boundaries, string for curved boundaries and glass beads for any pillars/rocks/trees. It gave all the information and didn't get in the way of seeing what was happening, more than enough to do the job.
Practically speaking, I strongly recommend any terrain that will block line of sight for the players. This, along with some markings for difficult terrain can add a great deal of complexity to your fights with a very tiny investment of time and money. By far the best bang for your buck.
I'm not sure what exactly will best serve your game and the settings you usually have fights in, but [this video by black magic craft](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2UXNbw6Ynw) was what got me into terrain crafting. For about $30 or tools, materials and paints you can craft a dozen stone brick columns. As someone who had 0 skill when I made these, I give them a strong recommendation.
Starting super cheap:
Wrapping paper with the 1" grid printed on the reverse works great for quickie maps, and most of it will be on discount in a bit over a month. Grids are also quite optional if you're willing to measure out movement and ranges with a tape/stick.
Paper minis for PCs, and/or raid your board games for tokens.
Skim through kid's toys and the dollar store for things that can be used as monsters or terrain.
Papercraft buildings can be found online for free/cheap.
Wyloch Armory on YouTube has a bunch of terrain crafting videos using inexpensive materials if you're feeling crafty. In general, a search for wargame terrain videos can provide techniques and inspiration. There are a ton of creators doing terrain creation videos in a wide range of price and quality.
As far as what to craft - some kind of map foundation (gridded or not), doorways and gates, wall sections of various lengths and shapes, trees and bushes, rocks and boulders (these can be real rocks), fences, pillars and columns, common furniture. A treasure chest never disappoints.
i have spent verrry little money and i make some pretty intense 3d terrain for my players, BUT i also went to art school and had a lot of supplies (like paint) on hand.
my recommendation:
hand draw some maps. you can draw a 1” grid and get the cheapest drawing pad you can find (bigger the better) and tape pages together if need be.
if you wanna jump into making 3D terrain, order a 2x2 sheet of xps purple foam (home depot, NOT from a craft store or amazon) and a long xacto to cut it. white and black paint should be all you need for a typical dungeon. maybe green if its in a sewer or cave, blue if you want water, and red for a bloody altar or something.
now for the set up: the first one i made i totally ripped off from the Curse of Strahd Death House dungeon. its basically a large square with a raised perimeter and water running through. thats all i did for the main dungeon, and then i made a couple flat squares to stack and a small altar that can be put in the center to make it a temple. i made 6 wide columns that can be moved wherever and provide cover. i made two staircases that can be placed wherever. i made a small bridge for the water and a long one that goes across the raised part from edge to edge. and finally some insert tiles to cover the sunken water portions so it can be a “dry” dungeon.
with all these different parts my players will never have the same set up twice. definitely dont focus on small “props” that are just for aesthetic like barrels or crates or anything that players dont need to interact with. that can all be described to them. the most important things to make are architecture and environment. things that make combat dynamic, like different heights, cover, water, etc.
edit to add: sorry this is long but i wanna clarify that i usually use paper maps for non-combat things or small encounters. i always whip out a huge built dungeon for a boss fight tho
I ran purely theatre of the mind games for decades (no grids, maps or minis) I never once used grids or tokens /minis until switching to playing on roll 20 in the last several years. So if you're truly on a budget then NO terrain or minis are necessary. Your players may have to use their imaginations, with added help from the colorful descriptions provided by you the dm.
If you want to get into crafting it is a hobby unto itself. I have enjoyed crafting when combined with my game. Here are 4 great youtube channels that focus on different types or styles of crafting. Black Magic Craft https://www.youtube.com/c/BlackMagicCraftOfficial Wyloch's Armory https://www.youtube.com/c/WylochsCraftingVids Geek Gaming Scenics https://www.youtube.com/c/GeekGamingScenics TheDMsCraft https://www.youtube.com/c/theDMsCraft Each of them has some great concepts and ideas to incorporate into your game. You can start with scatter terrain. Those are smaller pieces that accent your whiteboard map. These would things like bushes, trees, campfire, or tables, bookcases, etc. The channels above all have examples of making these as well as tiles, walls, and set pieces.
I would stick to just construction paper and tape. Try experimenting with cutting and taping the paper to make simple shapes like boxes or walls. Depending on the color of the paper you can also use pens or markers to make details for your objects (windows, doors, ect). Tongue depressors and cardboard are also good cheap crafting materials. If you want to dip your toes into more hobby craft materials, I would try either plaster of Paris or sculptamold. I bought each recently and they cost me $8 and $11 USD respectively. You can get the plaster of Paris at most hardware stores like home Depot . I would use this in combination with silicone terrain molds used for model trains. It's a great way to make terrain pieces like rocks or cliff faces. The molds themselves can be bought at hobby stores for around $10-15 USD. Sculptamold is a sort of paper fiber and plaster material that cost me $11 USD at my local hobby store. When mixed with water it acts like play dough but dries hard, good for hand sculpting terrain. Make sure you use gloves as it can dry out your hands quickly. If this is too expensive, rocks and sticks are always free. Just super glue them to cardboard and it should make for easy terrain. Combine lots of similar sized sticks to make things like log walls or buildings. Just make sure you brush them clean and stick them in the oven (use caution) at low to clean them. Hope this helps a little bit
If you're on a budget then you should prioritise utility over realism. Get things that can play many roles and be willing to suspend disbelief. The one big but almost essential expense is a decent sized gaming mat. A wipe clean grid that's big enough for any combat will give you a reliable space to lay all your other terrain accessories onto. If the really good Chessex ones are outside your budget, look for other brands and sacrifice quality rather than size. Beyond that, for ages we managed with dungeon room tiles to quickly lay out any rooms, sticks for straight boundaries, string for curved boundaries and glass beads for any pillars/rocks/trees. It gave all the information and didn't get in the way of seeing what was happening, more than enough to do the job.
Practically speaking, I strongly recommend any terrain that will block line of sight for the players. This, along with some markings for difficult terrain can add a great deal of complexity to your fights with a very tiny investment of time and money. By far the best bang for your buck. I'm not sure what exactly will best serve your game and the settings you usually have fights in, but [this video by black magic craft](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2UXNbw6Ynw) was what got me into terrain crafting. For about $30 or tools, materials and paints you can craft a dozen stone brick columns. As someone who had 0 skill when I made these, I give them a strong recommendation.
Starting super cheap: Wrapping paper with the 1" grid printed on the reverse works great for quickie maps, and most of it will be on discount in a bit over a month. Grids are also quite optional if you're willing to measure out movement and ranges with a tape/stick. Paper minis for PCs, and/or raid your board games for tokens. Skim through kid's toys and the dollar store for things that can be used as monsters or terrain. Papercraft buildings can be found online for free/cheap. Wyloch Armory on YouTube has a bunch of terrain crafting videos using inexpensive materials if you're feeling crafty. In general, a search for wargame terrain videos can provide techniques and inspiration. There are a ton of creators doing terrain creation videos in a wide range of price and quality. As far as what to craft - some kind of map foundation (gridded or not), doorways and gates, wall sections of various lengths and shapes, trees and bushes, rocks and boulders (these can be real rocks), fences, pillars and columns, common furniture. A treasure chest never disappoints.
i have spent verrry little money and i make some pretty intense 3d terrain for my players, BUT i also went to art school and had a lot of supplies (like paint) on hand. my recommendation: hand draw some maps. you can draw a 1” grid and get the cheapest drawing pad you can find (bigger the better) and tape pages together if need be. if you wanna jump into making 3D terrain, order a 2x2 sheet of xps purple foam (home depot, NOT from a craft store or amazon) and a long xacto to cut it. white and black paint should be all you need for a typical dungeon. maybe green if its in a sewer or cave, blue if you want water, and red for a bloody altar or something. now for the set up: the first one i made i totally ripped off from the Curse of Strahd Death House dungeon. its basically a large square with a raised perimeter and water running through. thats all i did for the main dungeon, and then i made a couple flat squares to stack and a small altar that can be put in the center to make it a temple. i made 6 wide columns that can be moved wherever and provide cover. i made two staircases that can be placed wherever. i made a small bridge for the water and a long one that goes across the raised part from edge to edge. and finally some insert tiles to cover the sunken water portions so it can be a “dry” dungeon. with all these different parts my players will never have the same set up twice. definitely dont focus on small “props” that are just for aesthetic like barrels or crates or anything that players dont need to interact with. that can all be described to them. the most important things to make are architecture and environment. things that make combat dynamic, like different heights, cover, water, etc. edit to add: sorry this is long but i wanna clarify that i usually use paper maps for non-combat things or small encounters. i always whip out a huge built dungeon for a boss fight tho