Hanging Out with Friends

TGIF, fellow TTRPG enthusiasts! We’re thankfully all survived another zinger of a work week, and it’s time to celebrate this upcoming weekend of gaming with a few new miniatures for your Wandering Monster library!

You might have deduced from the image above that we’re talking about a big ol’ DnD Barlgura and some “playful” bats. Today’s TTRPG blog post inspiration came from two earlier articles, and with more time on our side, we were able to complete two additional miniatures that fit into those scenarios or can be used in new encounters.

DM Ben is starting to eye a future jungle storyline and, consequently, has been cranking out some pretty feisty primate options. Some powerful apes are a natural choice of monster in such a dense, sweaty environment. And while we’ve made a fairly decent assortment, we wanted there to be a showdown battle with a mighty pack leader.

That’s where this powerful Barlgura by the marvelous mz4250 comes into play! This hulking mini is a free download and 3D prints like the prized warrior that he is. Surprisingly, we haven’t faced very many Balguras in our DnD games, so that miss needed to be corrected toot sweet.

The Barlgura is a large, ape-like demon that debuted in the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth module in 1982, in Monster Manual II, and often resembles a savage, orangutan-like beast with hulking arms and a CR 5 rating (in DnD 5e). This large fiend is categorized as a Demon from the Abyss.

Resident Painter Kimmy Utah colored this thundering monster for us, and even though you can’t totally tell from the picture, he does indeed have a tint of blue skin (per the Monster Manual description). We’re just relieved she still gave him an ape-like look because that fits our encounters a bit better. If we need a true Balgura, WotC has a couple of slick options from either Desert of Desolation and Monster Menagerie.

Next up, we wanted to spruce up the bat den that resides in the deep, dark caverns below the party’s newfound Bastion. These nocturnal flyers can be big trouble and come in all different sizes in DnD. The players can contend with a sudden bat swarm or even go toe-to-wing with freakish, near-human-sized versions!

With several completed 3D prints already in hand, one might wonder why we’re making another. Well, for that, you can “blame” STL Miniatures and their amazing sculptors. These tree-hanging bats from their Blood Bats set were just too frickin’ good to resist. We got the set through Patreon, and DM Ben quickly nudged the guys to make it happen.

Kimmy Utah also colored this part miniature, part scatter terrain piece up for us, and the end result was excellent. This STL has some marvelous texture to it, so drybrushing took to the final 3D print like butta. We also thought her tree color was a hoot!

DM Ben plans to have these guys make an appearance outside the group’s Bastion and engage with the players by reminding them not to violate their fragile truce. Or, he might instead have these two slippery Pete’s demand a better deal (or face their wrath). Not quite sure, but he definitely wants a battle with the bats to occur at some point.

Until next time!