Here Come the Real Waterworks

Even though it feels like the Dungeon Masters get all the fun with their evil miniatures, dastardly scatter terrain, and never-ending TTRPG gameboards, sometimes the adventurer stealths in for new STLs too. Let’s see what we cooked up today and how DM Ben still somehow made it about himself. 😉

Nothing says “baller sorcerer” like the person at your game table who can whip out spell effect scatter terrain based on the specific spell they just cast. Thankfully, we found a nifty lil’ spell effects set from an old Humble Bundle charity pack.

From time to time, Humble Bundle does these really cool STL charity packs, but they’re a bit tricky to spot as they come and go from their website with very little fanfare. The two we nabbed in the past contained considerable soothing scatter terrain from the good guys over at Hayland Terrain. Those shiny offerings included both Spell Pack 1 and Spell Pack 2. We’ve actually printed out several of them, but we’ll focus on the Wall of Water spell for today’s post.

Nothing crazy on the painting side of things, so DM Ben didn’t mind grabbing a brush and some Speedpaint to get this one to the gametable. After he primed it in flat black and then applied a traditional Slapchop base, he simply grabbed a bottle of Army Painter’s Tidal Wave. Once dry, he reached for AKI’s Wet Effects Fluid to go over the top to bring home that rushing-water vibe. Easy peasy!

We printed it out to cover a 2×2 d20-squared area, but you could certainly slice this one to fit any desired size. The 5e Wall of Water spell itself says you can make the wall up to 30 feet long, 10 feet high, and 1 foot thick, or you can make a ringed wall up to 20 feet in diameter, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick.

Primarily made for a DnD spellcaster, a Dungeon Master couldn’t resist getting in on the fun here, too! DM Ben could add this Wall of Water spell to a villain (to place disadvantage on ranged attacks against it). Even better, he could use our new TTRPG 3D-printed scatter terrain as a trap in a spooky, unexplored dungeon. Unsuspecting adventurers step on a trigger plate, which then sends a powerful wall of rushing water towards the stunned adventurers. And if you really want to go crazy, try this Under Pressure mechanical water trap by TheDMLair.com with its 18d10 damage!

DM Ben wants to add this trap to our Dungeon Delve Random Encounter table. The trap can take one of two forms (selected by the DM).

Version 1: A floor plate triggers the rushing water trap, which activates on an initiative of 20. The dungeon hallways fill with a powerful, fast-moving current. Each creature must make a DC 14 Strength Saving Throw or be swept 30 feet back down the hallway and be knocked prone. On a successful save, the player holds their ground. On Initiative 10, floating, jagged debris (such as rocks, splinters, or rusted metal) starts flowing into the hallway rapids. Each player makes a DC 14 Dexterity Saving Throw or takes 2d6+4 bludgeoning damage.

To counter this trap, the players can make a DC 17 Intelligence (Investigation check) to find the concealed valve or the lever that controls the water flow. A successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check, made at disadvantage, is required to turn the valve and stop the flow. A DC 15 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) can be used to jam the triggering plate and keep the water trap from activating.

Version 2: All the requirements from Version 1 are in effect, except that the passage from which they came is suddenly sealed off with a wall of spikes. Any player that gets swept up in the rushing water gets hurled into the spikes and takes 6d6+6 piercing damage. Ouch, indeed! We would save this tougher trap for higher levels in the 7-10 range, but there’s definitely nothing wrong with reminding a cocky party that this dungeon isn’t a walk in the park. 😉

Now all that’s left to do is update our free Dungeon Delve Wandering Monster table!

Until next time!