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16 January 2025
Here we go again with our fifth Kinda Sorta Portal entry, and this time, we’ve got a much-needed Dungeon Master assist from Loke Battle Mats!
We’re really embracing the idea of adding a Bastion to our DnD campaigns so that our players can enjoy building their own space from the ground up. A key element is ensuring that the group can transport back to their new digs without it being such a painful journey to return.
Everything in Dungeons & Dragons is fraught with peril, so we had to at least make their magical teleportation device “interesting.” The risk is in the portal’s name – there’s always a 30% chance the device doesn’t work as expected.
Ultimately, DM Ben wants to build a Kinda Sorta Portal random table with twenty different entries for those times the group bumbles their dice percent roll. Building all those different scenarios is no easy task, but thankfully, we just got our hands on the Loke Battle Mats Coast of Dread Adventure Box and all its mapping goodness!
There are 24 double-sided maps for Dungeon Masters to use in a myriad of situations. Getting terrain printed, painted, and set up in addition to its miniatures and scatter terrain can be really overwhelming at times. So, it’s incredibly handy to just pull out a map and cut that prep time down considerably (especially if you’re traveling to someone else’s house to play).
How might you use Loke Battle Mats Coast of Dread Adventure Box, you ask? Well, we decided to put their DnD product to the test using our Kinda Sorta Portal random table. DM Ben wants the group to inadvertently teleport to a castle’s grand archive room and come face-to-face with its master librarian – Archibald Bookman.
So, we started flipping through the double-sided, laminated maps to see if one fit the encounter mold here. Loke Battle Mats even includes various roofs that you can use to cover certain buildings and conceal their contents. You can tell veteran gamers worked on these assets.
Sure enough, they included a great hall map with decorative flooring. It’s perfect. As one walks around and explores the grand archive’s contents, you can practically hear the echoing footsteps. Can 3DRPG print this type of floor terrain? Absolutely. However, we were focused on creating all its scatter terrain, so now we get the best of both worlds. Plus, the map just looks fantastic with our 3D Printed terrain on it!
When our players unexpectedly teleport into this great hall, they will spot a single floating wizard slowly flipping through a large book on a pedestal. In the spirit of Ghostbusters, he will turn to the group completely unfazed and respond with a “Shhhhhh.” DM Ben loves slipping in iconic movie references, especially because the younger players usually have no idea what he is talking about. 😉
Our arcane librarian will ultimately come unhinged if the players…
Thus, a player’s best move here is to remain perfectly still and quiet until they can jump back into the Kinda Sorta Portal. Our mysterious librarian will use the DnD 5e Lich stat block (but without insane spells like Finger of Death).
Now, all that’s left to do is update our Kinda Sorta Portal table, which is a mix of dangerous and potentially more passive encounters.
3DRPG Kinda, Sorta Portal Random Encounters |
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DM Instructions: a 71% or higher means the group is temporarily transported to a random location below: |
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Roll | Monster | Location | CR, Type | Read More | Description |
1 | Passer-By | Forest Campsite | Large Bear | Hunting and a Camping | Those aren’t shadows! |
2 | Boris the Bruiser | Upstairs Tavern Room | Human Male | Pardon the Interruption | You better have a good reason! |
3 | Morkoth | Underground Cavern | Morkoth | Â Pack It Up, Pack It In | That garbage pile is moving! |
4 | Hunter | Hunter’s Trophy Room | Empty | Taxidermy Time | What bagged all these baddies? |
5 | Shhhhh | Grand Archive | Arcane Wizard | Today’s Article | |
6 | Coming Soon! |
Until next time!
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