Wandering Wednesday: Hit the Road

Greetings, fellow scatterbrains! We have a unique edition of Wandering Wednesday today, as DM Ben was itching for some better 3D-printed roadway options. So, let’s see where our tired feet take us today.

This is an unusual DnD blog post today because we’re featuring some new scatter terrain, but we already went through great lengths to get nearly the same previous 3D prints table ready. Even wilder, it’s the same STL creator in both instances. It just goes to show that the best creative minds in our hobby space aren’t afraid to take a second pass at something if they see lots of room for improvement.

First, let’s set the scene on why we wanted another go at road scatter terrain. We previously built an outdoor encounter for the adventurers’ journey to Tresendar Manor. This roadside scene involves a lizard capitalist merchant named Thetsis and a corrupt human bandit named Rasqel. This is a prewritten event inside the marvelous D&D Beyond Acquisition’s Incorporated 5e module (which we’re really enjoying following loosely along).

So, if we already had a full set of connectable roads completely done, why the sudden redo? Welp, the original pathways were just a bit too bulky, and their paint job was less than ideal (too dark). The banks off the paved roads were also taller, so the terrain was a little more elevated. Nothing wrong with this approach, but when the maker came out with a thinner version, we were eager to try them.

Our creator in question today is Infinite Dimension Games. These Modular Rural Roads are from their immense TorBridge Cull series. These flatter roads are a little easier to print, require less filament, take up less storage space, and even less paint to get onto your game table. We really love ’em.

Even cooler, after a well-deserved hiatus, IDG is back at it with their monthly Tribe on MyMiniFactory and released these really slick new Modular Town Facades. Their usual jam is insanely detailed, playable buildings, so it’s awesome to see them diversifying their releases. We especially love their small scatter pieces.

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how great your 3D print is, and instead, it’s how comfortable you are with your paint scheme. If you don’t love the piece, it’s most likely going to end up on the Island of Misfit Toys. Our favorite inspirational YouTuber, Miniature Hobbyist, has given us so many worthwhile paint tutorials, and he really hooked us with this particular video.

The sheer number of steps was reasonable with nothing complicated about ’em, and the final look was fantastic:

• Prime Flat Black | Slapchop Base.
• Brick 1: ASP Ancient Honey.
• Brick 2: ASP Battleship Grey
• Brick 3: ASP Pallid Bone or Pokorny Paint Earth Stone.
• Wash: WAR Sepia Tone Wash on all the bricks to darken it up a little.
• Dirt Patches: ASP Brownish Decay.
• Road Surface P1: Layer ASP Ashen Stone.
• Road Surface P2: Flock on ASP Noble Skin.

We also added some AK Interactive Water Gel Effect and Puddles material to create some depth and added dirtiness to the roads. Even better, randomly slip in some plant and bush tufts from Temu and you’re golden Pony Boy!

What’s especially nice about road scatter terrain is it’s not like you have to 3D print a tremendous amount (compared to dungeon tiles). Most of the time, you just want to put down some pieces to mark an inflection point in the story (like coming to a fork in the road) or to signal it’s time to roll initiative. So, you could print and paint two pieces of each type, and then maybe eight straights be loaded for bear.

We also wanted to show off how well these integrate with existing playmats. One of our favorite DnD map producers is the delightful creative team over at Loke Battlemats. They put all their maps in various wirebound sizes, which makes storage and transportation an absolute snap for Dungeon Masters. Heavenly, we tell ya.

We recently busted out their amazing Giant Book of Battle Mats, Dragon Lairs & Dungeon edition so we could show DM Ben how handy IDG’s terrain tiles fit on their beautiful grids. So, be sure to hop over to the Loke Battle Mats website and peruse their fab line of DnD gamer accessories, and definitely stop at their booth the next time they’re at a Con near you.

Until next time!