Train Tuesday Part 84: Bike to Work

Wowza! The Forgotten Rails’ secretive technology has left the station! As you know, Gnome Tinkerers have an insatiable appetite for new contraptions and thrive off outdoing one another. Let’s see what they came up with next!

Waterdeep’s Omin Dran and the 3M Hovertrain founders have gone through great lengths to keep their mysterious flutter innovation away from would-be copyright copycats! Alas, you can’t keep a great tech down, and the Realm’s Gnome Tinkerers are losing their minds over its endless possibilities!

You’ve already seen us share a few floating phenomena, including the durable Hovertruck, wacky upright walkers, and even a desert-combing Catmaran. One thing about technology – you can’t stop its expansion once it’s out in the wild! Alas, The Forgotten Rails is beginning to realize that licensing their levitating engines is the most profitable outlook! However, locating and finding Gnome Tinkerers to pay up is a whole other story.

So today, we’ve got another sputtering floating vehicle that’s starting to turn some heads on Waterdeep’s bustling roads. It’s called a Hoverbike, and its sensational STL comes courtesy of Brite Minis. This quirky crotch rocket seems like the perfect addition to our growing DnD tinkerer tech tree!

We have a “rule of five” here at 3DRPG Studios in sunny Chandler, AZ. Meaning, anything that we plan to use in multiples, we’ll print five of them for a myriad of reasons. That batch mentality includes TTRPG scatter terrain and miniatures.

Makes sense, right? A flock of fleas, a group of plants, a squad of soldiers, etc. A dungeon master will rarely go wrong with 3D-printing a worthy group of that starting size. Besides, one of the initial 3D prints might break, a desired color scheme could fall flat, we might need a larger set of monsters for an upcoming fight, etc.

DM Ben “volunteered” to give these bikes a good ol’ color, and he’ll often use certain 3D prints to try out new Speedpaint palettes (since the color on a paint bottle can be so off). Here, you can see the dark blue and green sort of rise above the other paint tests, but we kinda like the individuality of ’em here.

You could see an adventurer giving their hoverbike its own personality touches, so maybe that darker yellow or grey fits his or her style. However, for official use, the dark blue or red core scheme makes a bit more sense.

Giving every player at the table their very own Hoverbike out of the gate seems like a stretch. Still, they might earn one or two in a quest or even steal one in the dead of night so they can analyze it more. DM Ben pictures up two creatures that can ride a Hoverbike at a time. Thus, we plan to 3D-print a few more for official Forgotten Rails business (probably in dark blue) and then ultimately let the players acquire the other versions over time.

The Hoverbike bases were especially interesting here. The STL comes with a tiny hole at the bottom of the vehicle, and then its back has a slot to slip it into for a final fit. The problem is that this functionality rarely works in the wild. Instead, we grabbed a small Hirst Arts block, painted it black, and then glued it to the base for the Hoverbike to rest on. The floating illusion works like a charm.

In terms of playability, DM Ben will implement some starting guidelines…

• Hoverbikes can only ride over well-kept roads and solid surfaces.
• They can only handle the weight of up to two passengers.
• These prototypes break down a lot (like a temperamental childhood go-kart)
• Unkept surfaces can push debris into its fragile hover engines and cause a wipeout.
• Their speed is wildly erratic.
• They’re prone to overheating and can’t run for more than a few hours at a time.

Remember, starting tech always goes through a series of unpredictable growing pains. You’ve got to play that angle up as the dungeon master.

Lastly, here’s the paint scheme if you’d like to give these a try or improve upon them…

• Prime Flat Black.
• Slapchop Base.
• Seat: Contrast Snakebite Leather.
• Hover Engine Underside: FAN Evil Chrome.
• Body Option 2: ASP Aztec Gold.
• Body Option 2: Contrast Basilicanum Grey.
• Body Option 3: ASP Camo Cloak.
• Body Option 4: ASP Cloudflare Blue.
• Body Option 5: ASP Blood Red.
• Metals: ASP Broadsword Silver.
• Lights: ASP Zealot Yellow.
• Emblem: FAN Mithril.
• Grills: ASP Hoard Bronze.

DM Ben had two great learning lessons here. First, he discovered a new green as Army Painter Speedpaint Camo Cloak is excellent. Second, applying Citadel’s Agrax Earthshade over Broadsword silver is an awesome combo weathering effect.

Until next time! #VroomVroom