Mine Matters

We got a subtle but essential STL spotlight today because, in our joyous 3D-print hobby, the arcane devil really is in the details! Let’s explore further…

As amazing as large-scale 3D Printing can be for our TTRPG games, it honestly doesn’t matter how good those core terrain tiles are if you don’t complement them with top-notch miniatures and scatter terrain. Your dungeons and caverns need some personality and intrigue…otherwise, you’ve just got a bunch of empty rooms and passageways. And where’s the fun in that?

DM Ben recently built an underground cavern (the secret lair under the Night Hag’s cabin) using some beloved Dwarven Forge terrain. As beautiful as it is, this map won’t really sing until he fills it with some nasty monsters, unsuspecting traps, and other scatter terrain dressing. No problem – our 3D printers are always up to the task!

Let’s do a personality-injection example here by using this secret underground lair gameboard. DM Ben wanted to remind the players that these deep, dark passageways aren’t void of monsters and danger by any means, so we printed and painted an Umber Hulk to instill some fear.

And we’re not stopping there:

• Adding a new NPC 
• Dropping in a mysterious mirror
• Including some scattered rubble
• Slipping in a few secret doors
• Setting a few traps
• Putting in a few skeletons and bone piles
• Placing a few Corederite stones

See how the player immersion catapults to a whole new level just by adding all these subtle touches to your master map?

Now that our Forgotten Rails Hovertrains and cast of characters are in a pretty good place, DM Ben wants to pick up the pace and start teasing this exciting new game element. Thus, he’s going to have the players encounter their first Stone Scar Elemental and the mysterious purple-ish rocks they shed from time to time. It’s going to be such a hoot!

DM Ben won’t stop there. He will use this excellent Miner’s Loading Station by Aether Studios to help drive the importance of Corederite home. It’s one thing to see a wacky Earth Elemental roaming a cavern, but it’s another to see some intentional mining gear also trying to extract the mystery mineral. 3DRPG always wants its terrain tiles, miniatures, and scatter terrain to reinforce one another.

You might think resident painter Kimmy Utah mostly does miniatures for 3DRPG (cause, you know, eyes are darn hard). However, she actually gets nearly as many scatter terrain pieces to color up, too! We just adore her work, so we intentionally keep her very busy. This rock loader and sifter feels so industrious.

Here’s one more angle so you can see the cool other mechanical gears side of it. There’s plenty of personality and fine details in this one. One of the things we like about Aether Studios and their monthly Patreon is that it always includes a great mix of terrain tiles, minis, and scatter terrain. Their discord is a lot of fun, too.

See what a difference a scatter terrain piece can make for the overall story and game?! Take the extra time, DM. You won’t regret it.

Until next time!