Troll Bridge Reno

Time for another DnD gameboard renovation as our home game is set to play our home-brewed Troll Bridge encounter in an upcoming sesh! With some more time and experience under his belt, let’s see what tweaks DM Ben has made this time around!

Longtime readers might remember fabled Terry the Troll from our post back in February 2024. He’s continuously stood on guard for thee at the infamous bridge that connects Waterdeep to The High Forest (otherwise, you have to take a very long way around).

Locals love the guy, and his combats are legendary. He loves collecting meaningless things and has a poor memory. To cross, players simply need to give him something with a double letter, like a bOOt, kiSS, shEEp, etc.

The original Troll Bridge gameboard featured a nifty bridge we downloaded off Thingiverse. The players loved the setup, and the roleplaying to get by our faithful Troll guardian was an absolute hoot as they finally pieced together the clues on how to cross. Good times!

This time, DM Ben wanted to feature a mightier, more memorable core bridge piece. Every time he’s in PetSmart (because dogs are awesome), he always takes a gander at all their aquarium terrain. They primarily carry a brand called TopFin. So, one time, he saw an insane oversized log bridge that was part of a big discounted sale. He immediately snatched it up! You have to act fast because these sorta pieces come and go. Amazon is also another good source to search for this kind of scatter terrain btw.

The legend goes that Terry the Troll took down a mighty tree after a once-in-a-lifetime flood cut off access to Waterdeep (from the forest). He even saved several Waterdeep citizens during that crazy storm. Oh, that Terry.

That core bridge piece has all these different levels to it – a feature that Dungeon Masters salivate over. Giving players advantage, disadvantage, cover, and new opportunities to use their skills like athletics and acrobatics always makes for better gameplay!

Our new bridge piece also had this nifty overhang piece where Terry keeps his mysterious chest (which, unbeknownst to the players, simply holds all his toll knick-knacks). DM Ben loves teaser gameboard features that become irresistible to players, ultimately encouraging them to investigate.

The other side of the Terry’s bridge is just as cool! Of course, there’s an exit point, but the party is still pretty high off the ground (say 100 feet-ish). So, we printed up this rope later by Custom Miniature Maker and used that for a nerve-wracking descent (DC 12 Athletics check).

The rushing waters eventually receded, but his access bridge remained, and it’s still the most efficient way to cross over from Waterdeep. We had these ancient rubber-ish river tiles from a previous GenCon and were delighted to dust them off and use them in our TTRPG home game! We forgot we even had ’em! We used a murky swamp pond under the original bridge, but this rushing river terrain is so much better!

Additionally, we aimed to more clearly convey that the bridge itself is the only way to pass. The dangerous waters also have dense, sharp thickets standing at the ready to shred any adventurer who tries to move through them. We recently acquired these cool thorn wall scatter pieces by Dwarven Forge that paired nicely with these other elf barricade pieces from a Galladoria Games Kickstarter. Together they sell the natural impassable wall.

We also added a few more violent scatter terrain pieces to demonstrate to the adventurers what happens if a person refuses to pay Terry’s toll. We keep a box of misfit prints and such, and then from time to time, recycle those broken bits to make new pieces, such as the one in the pic above.

Lastly, DM Ben wanted to add a longer approach to the bridge itself, so he built out a pathway leading up to it. He grabbed a super handy road map from Loke Battlemats’ Long Road RPG Toolbox. Sprinkle on a few trees and boulders, and that snazy grid play surface instantly comes to life.

Our next challenge is to add a couple of encounters to this gameboard. On the first go-around, the players were a bit bummed that we didn’t have any actual combat on the bridge itself so we’re currently pondering a few one-shot encounters to add in here: one for the road leading up to the bridge and one on the bridge itself. We’ll share those with you next week, but we have some ideas in the hopper!

There you have it, though! A new and improved gameboard featuring various memorable sections that are sure to fully immerse players at your gaming table. Much better, don’t you think?

Until next time!