Tomb Thursday P52: Slithering Statues

Greetings, fellow glory-seekers! Tomb Thursday means a fresh weekend of gaming is in your sights! But first, let’s make sure you have some fun, chisled stone options for your sandy lair.

Not gonna lie. The 3DRPG team is on a bit of a stone kick lately. We’ve tested some really simple yet slick paint schemes here in 2026, and we’ve had a lot of fun trying out those different steps. It’s very exhilarating to apply those color combos to our Pile of Opportunity and get more gameboard-building options into DM Ben’s hands.

Of course, our desert tombs will be filled with different stone statues to pay homage to the gods. These ornate works of art are a staple of this sort of underground decor. Egyptians sure did love a bevy of different gods. Like, it’s insane how many different ones they had. For snakes alone, a simple Google search revealed eight different deities just for snakes!

We’ll focus on Wadjet: the cobra goddess who represented Lower Egypt, royal authority, and divine protection. Her image—the Uraeus—sat on pharaohs’ crowns to guard them. Cool, right?!

Enter our Egyptian terrain tile partner, Aether Studios, who just happens to have a really fun Stone Snakes set. We thought these would be perfect additions to our Beneath the Sands labyrinth! Super simple to 3D print and even easier to paint! So, what’s not to love…and worship?!

With some successful paint schemes in hand, DM Ben didn’t mind coloring these slithering stones up over the weekend. We used the same steps as our earlier charming Dog Fountain, and those paints transferred wonderfully.

• Prime Flat | Slapchop Base.
• Layer FAN Ash Grey.
• Apply one coat of ASP Runic Grey.
• Drybrush FAN Ancient Stone.
• Drybrush FAN Matt White.
• Spot-drybrush Citadel Athonian Camo Shade Wash for moss.
• Spot-drybrush Burnt Umber near the bottom for a dirty effect.
• Eyes: ASP Blood Red.

Quick and easy for any DnD scatter terrain hobbyists out there. Each one takes up a single d20 square, so you won’t have to worry about crowding your precious encounter playable space. There are eight different statue versions, so you can just pick and choose for whatever your next TTRPG scenario calls for.

We’re revisiting another favorite miniature of ours as Resident Painter Kimmy Utah sent back this variation in her last goodie box. This is a Snakefolk by EC3D Designs, and this masked swordsman is from their must-own Empire of the Scorching Sands Kickstarter.

We always ask her to do slight color variations on identical minis so that it’s a little easier to call them out on the game table during combat. Last time, she did the skin a bit darker green and drybrushed a little black over the top. Really slick. Click here to see that version. This time, she did a lighter reptilian shade of green, and we simply can’t decide which version we both like better. They’re both awesome.

Longtime 3DRPGers know we typically include a backside shot of all our final DnD 3D prints because it’s important you get to see these beauties from multiple angles.

For scenario use, DM Ben plans to 3D print one more cobra-mouth statue so he can place one on each side of a doorway. He’ll use the other smaller versions here for a minor treasure room or for some hallway alcoves. One of the snake eyes could contain a valuable gem (500 gp), with the rest simply being decorative glass: DC 15 Investigation check to spot it. Another idea is a hidden door mechanism on one of the fangs that can be pulled to open another area of the tomb.

Until next time!