Tomb Thursday P30: Signs of the Times

Tomb Thursday rising from the sands yet again, baby! Let’s talk walls this week, because what’s a mysterious Egyptian burial chamber without some slick hieroglyphic stones to make it pop?!

There’s just something about first stepping foot into a cold tomb that hasn’t been touched in ages. Literal chills. So, it’s really important to DM Ben that certain rooms of great importance appear as ornate as possible, while signaling someone very important has been sent to the afterlife here. And that all starts with imposing crypt walls.

We’re also realizing that we’re featuring several swell creations by Cast n Play this week. It’s never intentional to feature a DnD 3D-print maker multiple times in the same week, but alas, sometimes that’s just how a week’s article publishing works out.

So, say hello to Cast n Play again as we show off these symbol-soaked walls from their intriguing Egyptian Catacombs Set, which was part of the insane Terrain Essentials Interiors II Kickstarter (where these files were among the many unlocked stretch goals).

We’re going to highlight three Desert Tomb Wall 3D prints today, starting with this imposing open entryway. Now, obviously, many of the rooms will have secure doorways, but this piece could be an opening to an adjoining room. Or, this unassuming opening could be meant to lull the adventurers into a false sense of security and be the perfect spot for a trap.

You’re probably noticing that peculiar peg on the far left of the STL. This was once a staple of Cast n Play’s original wall system, in which the walls were designed to slot together. While sound in theory, this fastening system didn’t work well because the locking square peg and the corresponding hole didn’t always print perfectly, so they wouldn’t connect flush. Cast n Play has since moved to a different tile system (aka Death X Tiles), which is much more popular.

Next up is this nifty partially collapsed entrance wall tile. This one is especially appealing to DM Ben because underground debris and unexpected cave-ins are sure to be quite common, so we expect to get a lot of miles out of this one. We also dropped down a little sand flock to mix it up and add a little more flair.

We’ve saved the best for last with these ledged walls, perfect for a surprise from above, right?! Tombs will always be a mix of tight spaces and high ceilings. Hence, it’s important to have some ledge options so you can reveal all sorts of objects, such as a:

• swarm of snakes.
• hidden object.
• secret lever.
• secretive offering.
• lone, unmarked burial jar.
• scroll with a special message.

And that’s just off the top of our Dungeon Master’s head. 😉

We wanted to close by showing a typical d20 miniature on the ledge for scale. Now obviously, you wouldn’t put a monster miniature on there until the party rolls for initiative, but see how perfectly one rests on that flat ledge? We’ve featured plenty of Egyptian baddies that could rest in the shadows from above, too. Also, maybe an adventurer has to do a tricky climb check to reach the top of that ledge and find something from that bullet list above.

Until next time!