DM Ben has deemed 2026 the year of efficiency and order. His hobby desk is almost always an absolute mess, and much of it has to do with paint bottles clumped in small piles everywhere. It’s getting so bad that DnD could shoot an episode of Hoarders inside his home office. Something has to give. Once he got all his Dwarven Forge organized in easy-to-access and store cases, the paints were next on his organizational hit list!

So, what are we dealing with? Well, DM Ben uses three core paint brands and has them as full sets: Army Painter Speedpaints, Army Painter Fanatic Paints, and Green Stuff World (regular and dipping inks). He also has a couple of dozen Citadel Contrast Paints sprinkled in for good measure, but they’re just so darn pricey that he can’t commit to a full set. There’s a paint rack organizational question that literally split the 3DRPG team right down the middle, but more on that later in this DnD article.

While DnD display cases take up the majority of his wall space (to show off all those sparkly final TTRPG 3D prints), he noticed a break in the clouds and decided the time was right to use that open office wall space for more accessible paint storage. Having heard great things about Ikea’s Skadis series and its 3D printing community support, we decided to help him create the perfect solution. DM Ben purchased a 30×22 white Skadi board for $29.99 to get the ball rolling.

We don’t mind buying things if it’s less of a hassle and cheaper to buy the piece than 3D-print it, but the paint bottle holders from Etsy and even Temu are absurdly overpriced. Like, at least $3.95 per printed STL set?! That’s way too pricey because we ended up 3D printing a bunch of ’em over two weeks, and all it cost us was one bottle of Super Glue ($6) and 1.5 rolls of Hatchbox PLA ($42). This was definitely the most cost-effective route, given that we 3D-printed the pieces ourselves rather than buying them online.

We searched around, and one particular maker leaped out at us – this dude called The Rooster on Printables. His paint bottle holder had excellent reviews, and the comments were filled with satisfied hobbyists singing his praises. That was good enough for us. So, we did a test print, tried it out on our newly acquired Ikea Skadis pegboard, and we’re hooked (pun intended)!

Now, he does two versions of the files, and the distinction between them is super important. If you have several paint brands and, consequently, different-sized bottles, you want to 3D print the “255” file version (which indicates a 25.5 mm larger-sized holder). That way, you can have both an Army Painter Bottle and a slightly larger Green Stuff World bottle in the rack.

The only bummer is that the larger file means you can’t 3D print a single piece; instead, you have to print the top and bottom pieces separately and glue them together. Not a big deal, but an extra step nonetheless.

Let’s review what you actually need to drop into your slicer to 3D print your new wall-mounted paint holder!

• One plate of hooks. We ultimately made 80-ish of them.
• One plate of the two-part holders. We 3D-printed 35 sets of them.

Again, you’ll need to use some super glue to adhere the top piece to the bottom piece, but that step is easy. The hooks are inserted into the back of the bottom piece, but they can be a little snug. You might need to use a simple file and give it a rub-a-dub-dub so the hooks fit into those insertion points a bit more easily.

So, here’s what a completed board looks like, so you can get a better handle on the numbers in this article. DM Ben had to order a three-pack of these hanging containers in order to get everything shipped to his door. Yes, he could have gone to IKEA and picked up his board, but then his girlfriend would have spent $200+ more on silly house stuff, so paying an extra $10 for delivery was the better financial decision.

Those see-through containers will ultimately be quite handy as DM Ben will probably put different-sized bases in those, so he doesn’t have to dig for them after a successful DnD mini or scatter terrain piece paint job.

DM Ben mounted it to his home office wall earlier this week, but it wasn’t without some drama. The reason we’re not showing it to you with all the paints in place is because…brace yourself now. When he brought the board and mounting bracket home from work, there was the usual chaos from his girlfriend and our puppy office mascot, Winnie Lou. He set the bar on top of his car for what he thought would be a brief moment (since the board itself required both hands to carry into the house).

Welp, fast forward 30 minutes, and DM Ben heads out to the gym for some cardio. Alas, he left the mounting bracket on top of the car and drove to the gym. That bar fell off the top of his car and into the street, where it naturally got run over. He was able to fix it with a pair of pliers and a vice, but he had to use nails for the two top pins, and that isn’t perfectly secure.

Hence, DM Ben ordered a second board. We have some super handy tool-fellas here on the 3DRPG team, so they’re going to fix that bar a bit better, and we have replacement pins for the top coming. DM Ben’s girlfriend wants a Skadi board in her office for all her hobby stuff anyway, so everything works out in the end.

Finally! Here is the final board with all the paint holders 3D-printed and placed on the Skadis board! This picture does not do it justice! This new hobby paint organizational system looks frickin’ amazing. One mighty office debate remained, though! How do we specifically place our three different paint brands on the board itself?

• Option A: sort the paints by color palette (row of reds, row of greens, etc).
• Option B: sort the paints by paint brand (Speedpaints, Fantatic, GSW, etc).
• Option C: sort ’em by most used (with purples/pinks shunned in a corner).

The office voted, and all the ladies picked Option A (by color), and all the guys picked Option B (by brand). Staffer Fun Bobby made the best point, though. We often ask Google, “What specific Army Painter paints would you use to paint this Dretch miniature?” DM Ben does this suggested paint scheme web move alllll the time now, so sorting by brand won out here.

The bottle holder angle is especially good because it maximizes space while still letting you see the paint bottle color without any blocking. That efficient stacking and quick-glance paint surveying as you try to find your bottles really blew our minds. It’s absolutely perfect, so kudos to The Rooster for his brilliant design and implementation. The only bummer is that GSW paints list their color names near the bottom of the bottle, so we’ll have to be smart and ensure we sort that section alphabetically. Oh well, a small price to pay for an otherwise perfect setup.

Next up, we’re trying a Cital Contrast Paint Bottle holder. We just did our first 3D print test earlier this week, so more to come on that experiment.

Until next time!

The post Hold My Paint appeared first on 3DRPG.

Before we unwrap our favorite TTRPG gift suggestions for 2025, we would be remiss if we didn’t remind everyone of our previous present picks. They’re still great suggestions, just keep in mind that the earlier referenced prices have naturally increased a bit due to the Chaotic Evil nature of today’s tariffs.

• 2024 3DRPG Gift Guide
• 2023 3DRPG Gift Guide

So, if there’s something on either of those two DnD holiday articles that you couldn’t get in time previously, you could always add them to this year’s RPG shopping list.

Also, an important note on our selection criteria. We only recommend DnD holiday gifts that you can physically purchase. There were some tremendous Kickstarters in 2025, but as y’all know, nearly all those projects won’t ship until next year. So, products like One Shot Wonders or World’s Largest Dungeon will likely make their appearance next season when we actually have them in hand.

Loctite Super Glue Gel ($3.64-ish): Hear us out! Often, 3D printing hobbyists have to glue their FDM or Resin pieces in some fashion before they can hit the game table. The type of adhesive really matters. Trust us, we’ve tried countless brands. None of them holds a candle to Loctite’s Super Glue Gel. Getting that pesky stuff on your hands is less likely, and the gel consistency means it goes on easier with just the right amount of drying time. Put a couple of bottles of this magic sauce in a Christmas stocking and you’ll be a hero.

MyMiniFactory.com and Patreon.com Subscriptions ($5 to $15): Always a classic pick, but now it’s even easier to gift them to family and friends. MMF now has a dedicated gift card page, while Patreon claims it’s also easy; however, we haven’t had much luck following their steps yet. Therefore, you may need to opt for the simpler MMF method.

Still, here are our current favs:

• Brite Minis ($5-ish)
• Dungeon Classics ($5-ish)
• STL Miniatures ($9-ish)
• Cast n Play and/or Terrain Essentials ($9-ish)
• Honorable Mentions: World Forge Miniatures and Fantastic Plants & Rocks

We’re still amazed that Kickstarter or Backerkit don’t offer gift cards, but they’ll eventually hire a Marketing VP who realizes what a missed opportunity that is.

Viridian Random Generator Dice ($6-ish): They’ve come out with a few new ones this year-ish, including their Severe Weather Acts of God Generator die and their Dungeon Room Generator die. Dice of any kind are always a swell in those stockings!

Push Pop Bubble Fidget ($6.99-ish): YouTuber Miniature Hobbyist introduced us to this marvelous painting aid contraption. Paint lasts longer and is way easier to clean when you add several drops of your favorite paint into this dishwasher-safe contraption. They even come in different sizes. Add this along with a few of your pals’ favorite paint color bottles, and you’re golden.

Calendar of Many Adventures 2026 Edition ($14.99 & $19.99): Oh, LokeBattleMats, you so get us. Your annual DnD RPG Calendar brings us immense joy, which also includes digital versions of every monthly adventure. Even better, show those special gamers in your life that you get them by doing the little things like specialized DnD wrapping paper. This premium gift wrap, featuring a stunning dungeon design, even includes a digital version of the underground map, as well as eight different gift tags. And if all that RPG holiday goodness wasn’t enough, this talented crew always has a fresh Kickstarter under their belts like Epic RPG Fails, Extra Insulting Insults & Even Dumber Dares!

DnD Movable Jointed Chain Ruler ($18.99-ish or 3D Print Your Own): We prefer gridded terrain and mats, but sometimes you just can’t avoid gridless, especially if you’re a Dwarven Forge Terrain Tray enthusiast (like us). These flexible distance markers by DolDols.com are incredibly handy. You can even print your own for free, thanks to Designs by Davyd and his Flexi D&D Ruler.

Deck of Encounters & Deck of Loot ($22-ish): Longtime 3DRPG readers know we are cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs for any and all things card decks. To us, they’re the perfect gaming aid, immersing players in your DnD game. Tome of Summoning had a dandy Kickstarter, and their physical products hit mailboxes and stores in 2025. Grab their Deck of Encounters or Loot Decks as a gift of appreciation for that DM in your life.

Game Envy Popup Rinse Cup & Magical Sinking Brush Scrubby ($24-ish): This is the paint accessory of the year for us!! We use this setup every single weekend. We found this one at the Game on Expo 2025, and it saved the day as the booths were surprisingly slim pickings. We didn’t even realize that these were two separate pieces ($12 each), as the delightful couple we bought it from had it as a set. So, you can just get the super handy pop-up rinse cup or the brush scrubby piece. We think they work wonderfully together, though, and make the perfect stocking stuffer!

Lynx RPG Condition Rings ($37.95): Our beloved 3D printing hobby offers numerous intangible benefits, and choice is one of our favorites. You can certainly 3D-print these condition markers, but sometimes there’s just not enough time (and filament) in the day. So, if you want some irresistibly squishy and high-quality condition rings out of the box, this is the set to get.

Dungeon Master Rules Mat for 5e DnD 2024 Rules Edition ($38): Total Party Chill continues their magic with this incredibly handy Neoprene game aid. Last year, we recommended the player version, and this year they released a delightful DM version. There is no better way to familiarize yourself with the new D&D rule updates than with these beauties. You can get the mats in three sizes and multiple colors. And if you want another fine DnD stocking stuffer, grab these gorgeous Old School D&D Dice for a mere $9-ish and pay homage to your gaming roots! Bring it all home with some great DnD vids on their YouTube channel, which make for great entertainment while you paint all your 3D prints.

D&D Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set ($40-ish): It turns out the last rules release is more of a 5.5 than a radical shift, and to us, that’s a good thing. We’ve bought a lot of WotC starter sets over the years, and this one obliterates all the past versions. The set is insanely well done and stuffed with a slew of physical gaming aids (so the appeal for veteran players is there, too). If you’re looking to get a quick game going with some brand new players, this box set is a must.

D&D Adventuring Gear Potions Set ($46-ish): By now, we’re sure you’ve seen all those fun Potion of Healing bottle sets but who says it just has to be about hit points?! Etsy extraordinaire Aurora Athenaeum knows what we’re talking about, and they’ve crafted all sorts of fun potions to pass out at your game table, including Potion of Heroism, Potions of Resistance, and, of course, the classic Adventuring Gear collection! Get a couple of single bottles as a classic stocking stuffer, or grab the full sets like we did! Their quality of work and care is exceptional.

Green Stuff World Dipping Inks ($137-ish): We’re probably late to the party on this one, but these Dipping Inks are our top pick for 2025. Just as good as Army Painter Speedpaints (which we still love) and more affordable than Citadel Contrast Paints (which we still use), these particular paints by Green Stuff World are amazing. We especially love their range of wood colors and consider Skeletal Brown (with a dark wash) to be the standout. Grab the whole series or just pick up a few bottles of your favorite colors!

Reading Material: DM Ben always does a big book sweep so that he has plenty of great DnD books to read on a beach in the Caribbean. So here are some great editions going in his suitcase!

• The No-Prep Gamemaster ($10.99-ish): Train Your Brain to Run Tabletop RPG Games.
• The Game Master Series ($11 to $15-ish): Book of Villains & Minions, Random Encounters, NPCs, etc.
• Return to Brookmere ($12-ish): Choose your own adventure classics.
• Nord Games Wondrous Expeditions Forests ($25-ish): Handy pocket guide.
• Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master ($35-ish): SlyFlourish is the gift that keeps on giving.
• Domain of the Deathless King ($19-ish): Play some solo DnD on your tablet.
• Worlds at a Glance ($135-ish): So frickin’ good, (especially the item cards).

DM Ben might get overruled by the airport scale for the amazing Game Master Series hardcover books, but they are all extremely well done, and any one of them would make a great gift for that Dungeon Master in your life.

And just like that, you’ve got all the latest DnD RPG wish list items for those special gamers in your life!

The post Holiday Gift Guide 2025 appeared first on 3DRPG.

The 3DRPG team adores helpful DnD accessories…like, we seriously can’t get enough of ’em. Today, we’re going to show off some feel-good DnD miniatures condition rings so everyone at the table can quickly tell who has what buff or ailment, which ultimately makes combat run more smoothly and efficiently.

Before we share these wonderful DnD accessories, let’s clear the air. Yes, we could 100% 3D-print similiar condition rings for ourselves. However, there is only so much time in the day, guys and gals. We have to pick our spots. We are already subscribed to countless Patreons and have our 3D printers running constantly. We also have to paint everything that comes out of said 3D printers. Hence, we would rather make a couple of Amazon clicks and have this product show up at our door while continuing to attack our “Pile of Opportunity.”

Enter Lynx and their absolutely fabulous DnD Miniatures Condition Markers set. This terrific TTRPG accessory includes 96 Rings in various vibrant colors to Track 24 different status and spell effects. They randomly showed up in our Instagram RPG feed, and we simply couldn’t resist the click.

Each RPG miniature condition ring comes in this sturdy, portable case. There are four rings per effect, and each one comes in its own distinctive color. DM Ben assigns minor game assistance duties to each person at the table. For example, one player tracks initiative, another acts as the banker, another helps look up rules clarifications, another puts numerical markers on duplicate monsters, yet another tracks each round, and then we have someone who places the corresponding condition effects on each miniature, friend or foe.

One of the big reasons we love these Lynx Miniatures Condition Markers so darn much is that we simply forget which character or monster has what effect(s) on them. Losing track of those conditions can make a dramatic difference during combat. Not only that, forgetting these effects just knocks the overall fun meter down a hefty notch. Effects are crazy fun, but not when everyone forgets who has what.

And here’s our favorite product trait – they’re made of silicone-ish material, which makes them super squeezable and irresistibly squishy. Seriously, we could just palm these all day like a miniature stress ball. They feel so darn good in your hand (especially verse rigid filament).

Here are a few notable product characteristics. The rings are readable from any angle, which is great when players are situated around all sides of your game table. The effect letter is white and contrasted against a solid ring color, so no squinting necessary. The lettering is also printed on both sides of the ring. You even get two “wildcard rings” which are named physical & magical effect, so those rings can cover any other sort of home-brewed or different game edition effect. Seriously, you can tell these DnD condition markers were made by gamers, for gamers. #love

We’ll leave you with one other tip. With an inside dimension of 1 inch, these condition markers fit exactly over the base of standard 25mm miniatures. We appreciate their meticulous design specs, but we actually prefer to put the rings on our RPG minis as if someone had just thrown them a life ring from a rescue boat. Hooking them on your miniature makes it much easier to quickly move them from one d20 square to another.

You can purchase a box on Amazon for the reasonable price of $37.95, with free shipping available to Prime members. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Until next time!

The post Ring Around the Cozy appeared first on 3DRPG.

DM Ben is a staunch supporter of gridded everything when it comes to DnD. He already has enough to worry about behind the screen. Still, he’s resigned to the fact that sometimes cool game mattes and battlemattes won’t have those incredibly convenient movement squares. So, we gots to be prepared!

In our last “Hey, Hey, It’s Game Day” post, we shared a perfect example of how a distance marker accessory can be incredbily helpful. Besides being 3D-printing fanatics here at 3DRPG Studios in sunny Chandler, AZ, we’re also die-hard Dwarven Forge collectors. Many of us have been gaming since the 1980s and grew up on Stefan Pokorny’s brilliant TTRPG terrain creations. That love of the forge continues to this day.

While Dwarven Forge does indeed offer plenty of “gridded” terrain, their amazing Terrain Trays and Battle Boards are gridless (due to a production design decision). We’re hooked on these brilliant accessories, though, because their products contain magnets, and everything sticks to these surfaces with ease. Therefore, we needed a simple d20 movement measurement accessory to simplify things.

Enter DolDols – a DnD acessory company with a huge assortment of great TTRPG pieces to choose from. Now, we’re always a little apprehensive about ordering from China-based companies because of orders literally not showing up, but this was a minor purchase, so we thought we would test their site out for you.

We’re pleased to report that everything went smoothly. Ordering on their website was a snap. The product arrived safe and sound. Now, of course, you have to expect it to take longer to ship, but that’s a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. We actually love ordering from other countries as it makes us feel more connected to the world and our amazing global DnD hobby.

So, say hello to the DnD Movable Jointed Chain Ruler by DolDols – an all-in-one 3D-printed measuring tool featuring movable joints and allowing for free bending, making it adaptable to various corners or curved paths. Each measurement segment is marked with a clear 1-inch incremental scale (e.g., a d20 square) to ensure accurate measurement.

This nifty TTRPG movement accessory comes in a variety of lengths (up to 18″) and colors (up to 23 variations). We picked green with white text so that it was super easy to read on the game table.

Now, here’s where we made a little oopsie daisy. It never dawned on us that this was a 3D-printed accessory! We can simply download an STL file and print a few of our own! We found a nice one on Thingiverse.com by MpThompson. There’s another one on MyMiniFactory.com by NapKing. Those two free downloads aren’t exactly what we purchased, but they still serve the purpose.

We grabbed this free STL by DavyD and are going to give it a go on our Prusa printers. Alternatively, you can simply purchase one from DolDols.com or another Etsy creator if you don’t have the time to make a 3D-printed one yourself.

This product is also made by a variety of artisans, with numerous listings from various Etsy creators, which means we could have obtained it at a slightly lower price. However, we’re very pleased with our purchase. We’re just going to try and 3D-print a few more as it would be handy to have multiples around the game table.

Also, just a heads up that as we move into the upcoming holiday months, ol’ DM Ben has to take his use-it-or-lose-it vacation days. So, if you see us dark on a particular weekday, it’s because we gave Digi Ben a breather. He spends most of his free time painting terrain for our little blog or attending concerts with his main squeeze. He’ll be seeing two great bands this week, Maroon 5 and Hozier, so we’ll be back on Thursday, 10-9 with another great Tomb Thursday post!

Until next time!

The post It’s Going the Distance appeared first on 3DRPG.

DM Ben loves tangible game handouts in any form and uses them alllll the time. He’s got NPC Face Cards, Item Cards, Spell Cards, game coins, and of course, all our beloved 3D-printed miniatures and scatter terrain. After noticing how much his players latched onto those physical healing bottles, he wanted to add some other types of potions to his treasure library.

Enter the talented husband and wife team at Aurora Athenaeum. Their thriving Etsy store is based in good ol’ Boston, Mass (#carport), and they’re just as clever as all get out! It was a true pleasure to work with them on this DnD post. Nick and Kaitlyn make a variety of cool potions that we simply couldn’t resist (pun intended).

Let’s start with some liquid courage and their beautiful Potion of Heroism. How bad arse would it be for the DM to slide this to a player after some successful pillaging? The “oohs and ahs” will be abundant from everyone huddled around your table.

Each potion of heroism comes in a 200mL glass bottle with a hard, decorative resin base and is topped with a laser-etched cork. Your charming potion bottle includes a teal standard d4 (representing the Bless spell) and 10 translucent blue gems (representing the temporary hit points gained). Each magical brew also comes with a matching item card, professionally printed on premium natural cream cardstock. Nothing but total class here, y’all.

Next up is this charming D&D Adventuring Gear Potions set, and all we can say is let the drooling commence! You get five different, highly desired potions in this set, including Anti-Toxin, Poison, Alechmeist Fire, Acid, and Holy Water. The Heroism potion pictured above is separate, but the little bugger photobombed this shot. Their mixtures are designed for D&D 5th edition’s 2024 rules set, but you can request the 2014 versions, and they’ll be happy to accommodate you.

Again, each Adventuring Gear potion bottle comes with its own high-quality, gimmie-gimmie item card. Yes, yes, a player can have this very same magic item somewhere digitally in their D&D Beyond character sheet, but let’s be honest here, gamers forget about using them because there’s nothing tangible in their hand or in plain view. If you’ve got a physical, quaint potion bottle and item card in front of you, you’re way more likely to remember to use it.

Also, the potions are naturally made for earlier levels, but since all the bottle corks are removable, you could easily level up the potion and add your own dice for higher-level handouts.

Lastly, you can pick up this enchanting D&D Potions of Resistance set. There are ten different resistant concoctions in all, including Acid (black), Cold (blue), Fire (red), Force (white), Lightning (yellow), Necrotic (purple), Poison (green), Psychic (pink), Radiant (gold), and Thunder (brown). The adorable labels are also very intuitive for anyone to quickly recognize the corresponding potion.

Each resistance potion comes in a 2.17″x 0.86” (10mL) glass bottle filled with soft decorative resin and topped with a small cork. They’re perfectly sized to pass out and keep in one’s personal table space. They also come with their own item cards with a handy game-use description on the front and a charming authenticity mark on the back. It’s those types of clever little personal touches that keep us coming back to brilliant Etsy artisans like Nick and Kaitlyn.

There are plenty of ways to integrate these bottley goodness game aids into your campaign. DM Ben can slide them across the table anytime a player purchases any of them from one of our homebrewed NPCs, including Keanu Leaves, proprietor of One, Two, Three, or M Knight Holyman, high priest of the Church of Consequences.

DM Ben could also pass some of these Aurora Athenaeum potions around during those post-encounter investigation checks from fallen foes’ pockets or lockpicked treasure chests. Players could even buy them for their own adventure gear and inventory purposes.

3DRPG is showcasing both of their potion sets, but it’s important to note that you can buy any particular brew bottle individually, including those irresistible healing potions. Either way, you’re sure to find just the right concoction combination for your player’s pockets at Aurora Athenaeum. Our highly anticipated 2025 Holiday Gift Guide is right around the corner, and we think these magical elixers would make perfect stocking stuffers for that gamer in your life, but more on that coming soon.

Until next time!

The post Potent Potion Potables appeared first on 3DRPG.

The last thing anyone wants at the game table is awkward silence and players who are just going through the motions. A true Dungeons and Dragons game is a delicate cooperative symphony between the DM and its adventurers. That seamless exchange of clever dialogue and mindblowing ideas feeds our beloved TTRPG addiction. Thankfully, Loke BattleMats slid us a review copy of their latest card deck accessory, and we’re jazzed to show you how it can max out that fun dial.

Dumb Dares & Silly Side Quests is a beefy one-hundred-card deck that gives players subtle and not-so-subtle in-game prompts to play out whenever they think the timing is right! The cards are high quality, durable, and don’t contain microscopic text. We might slip ours into protective sleeves, though, because…well, pizza.

And the instructions couldn’t be easier. Simply deal 2-3 cards to the players for their character to complete during your game sesh. For each dare, Loke BattleMats has even included an example of what their Character could do to help players embrace the chaos! Now, the DM never wants a player to get uncomfortable, so if they draw a card that just isn’t their jam, they simply pass that one back and re-draw. Easy.

If a player decides the cards aren’t for them, they can simply pass on them altogether (but it’s a safe bet they’ll change their minds later and participate). Sometimes, a shy person needs to see the cards in action for a few rounds before deciding to join the fun. No harm, no foul in that.

The 3DRPG office players are greedy little buggers, so DM Ben added a few optional incentives for anyone who successfully plays a card and generates a bunch of in-game shenanigans and rousing laughter:

• Roll a d100 and receive that result in gold.
• Choose an addictive Fate & Fortunes card (by Nord Games).
• Draw a Treasure Card (by Nord Games).
• Receive an Inspiration die.
• Gain d10 Temporary Hit Points.

Nothing wrong with tipping your hat to the player on a job well done and rewarding them for their creativity, right?!

So, we’ve used these cards for multiple sessions here at 3DRPG Studios, and things went as expected. During the first game, some players would glance at their cards or inadvertently forget about ’em. Fast forward to the next game day, and the DM kindly reminds the players of their Dumb Dare & Silly Sidequests cards while dangling the rewards from above.

There’s always that one creative player in the group who loves stuff and is chomping at the bit to not only play a card for some added chuckles but also wants to cash in on the DM’s generosity. And that’s exactly what happened in the most perfect way!

Our adventurers were on their very last home-brewed encounter of the Night Hag’s underground lair: her secret laboratory! From the hallway, they saw an alchemy table in the distance. Naturally cautious, the group discussed their next move. Then out of nowhere, our Barbarian stormed in and declared the wildest investigation technique! He rushed to the nearest rock and licked it. The rest of the players started howling, “Wait! You just did what?!” Even DM Ben didn’t realize what was happening at first!

Turns out, our crafty Barbarian (played by “Fun Bobby”) had two epic Dumb Dare cards: Use only taste and smell to search for clues or answers, and start a monster fight in the most surprising way. Welp, little did he know that DM Ben’s rock was actually a mimic. Hence, his first action to lick the mysterious rock would instantly ignite a monster clash in the wackiest of ways.

The table just erupted as he played each card in succession while DM Ben tried to pick his jaw off the floor. His gameplay was absolutely perfect, and we couldn’t stop cracking up! Weeks later, we still ask Fun Bobby if he’s licked any rocks lately as we walk past him in the office halls.

The best part is the Dumb Dares & Silly Side Quests card deck has tons of replayability. Every player interprets a situation differently. Utilizing the card in hand will always vary based on the player’s creativity and ingenuity. Also, how the card worked in one encounter can play completely differently in another scenario. Best of all, there are usually multiple prompts to get those gears a turnin’.

That’s ol’ DM Ben on the left and Fun Bobby still trying to lick a rock after the game. Mission accomplished, Loke BattleMats!

Until next time!

The post Go Ahead, We Dare Ya! appeared first on 3DRPG.

Even though we’re going to show you a literal working scenario here and give these dynamic dungeon builder cards a true test drive, these cards are darn fun and can be used in many ways. You know us, though. We prefer to share relatable examples that all our fellow dungeon masters and dice rollers can see themselves in whenever we’re showing off new DnD game aids.

So, if you’ve been following along, we built out the TTRPG gameboard for the entire Tresendar Manor mini dungeon crawl inside D&D Beyond’s Acquisitions Incorporated free 5e module. Now, the authors were certainly right that having the players walk into a completely empty room is quite the mind f@ck, but DM Ben felt that saving such an experience was best served in a future crawl.

No room contents, well, no problem thanks to Loke Battlemats and this superb Dungeon Designer’s Deck. Let’s briefly run through what’s stuffed inside the nifty packaging.

• 100 larger, easy-to-read cards in total
• 60 Terrain Feature Cards with 200+ Random Encounters
• 10 Quest Cards
• 10 Room Cards
• 10 Door Cards
• 5 Enemy Generator Cards
• 2 Random Loot Cards
• Double-sided, fold-out Battle Map
• 3 How-to-use Cards and a 50-Page Reference Book

So, plenty of bang for your $25 bucks, and we’re all about adding things to our DnD collection that are stuffed with value and reusability.

Since we only needed to quickly fill our empty room, we simply drew one room card and one door card. Now, here is where these dungeon cards really deliver on their value. Our Door card gives DM Ben its AC and HP, which is super handy. Optionally, you can even roll a d6 for additional details and ideas. The Room card was equally useful as it included a fun description and the option to roll a d6 for additional details. Love it.

So, as you can see from the Dungeon Designer’s cards above, our players have walked into a Blacksmith’s room complete with a working forge! Thankfully, we had all sorts of applicable 3D prints to choose from, and we settled on this forge by Cast n Play and their Terrain Essentials Vol II Blacksmith set.

Now, we also wanted to include a couple more accessories to complement our Forge and really immerse the players, so we leaned on that same Blacksmith set from Cast n Play for the scatter terrain work area and another weapons and armor rack by Infinite Dimensions Games and their Torbridge Furnishings set.

Lastly, our nifty door pick is from WizKids’ WarLock Tiles series and their Accessory Doors & Archways set. These doors are really handy in a DM pinch, and this one looks like both a sturdy metal door and a tough reinforced wooden door. Funny enough, we also participated in Loke BattleMats Box of Dungeon Doors Kickstarter and highly recommend that set too.

Thanks to Loke Battlemats and our handy 3D printer, we just took an empty dungeon room and turned it into an engaging encounter with all the bells and whistles for our players. 3D-printer enthusiasts will especially love this Dungeon Designer’s Deck because it removes all the heavy-lifting and stress for DMs and turns it into a fun, easy room-building experience. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Until next time!

The post No Room? No Problem! appeared first on 3DRPG.

Running into fellow travelers on a popular country road is a common DnD experience and can make for a zesty encounter. This NPC could be a vital resupply option and even provide critical mission intel to the party. DM Ben just wants to be better prepared for this type of gameplay interaction and thinks he has some great new accessories to complete his offerings.

Previously, we did a fun DnD blog post for our d20 Wilderness Wandering Monster table and introduced the world to Fenton Hindergrass. This mild-mannered, very large man walks the most popular paths around The High Forest and peddles his wares to any adventurer who wants ’em.

In that article, we provided a handy list of items he could offer the group and even found a Reddit thread d100 table for even more ideas!

• Healing Potion (50 gp)
• Restoration Scrolls (400 gp)
• Ranged Ammo (a few bolts, arrows, etc)
• Additional 50 ft of rope
• Antitoxen Vial (advantage on poison saves)
• Lock Picks/Thieves Tools (25 gp)
• Lock and Key (10 gp)
• Manacles (2 gp)
• Candles or Torches (2 cp)
• Empty Vials & Bottles (2 gp each)
• Signal Whistle (1 gp)
• Flask of Oil (1 sp) | Holy Water (25 gp)
• Flare Arrow (15 gp)
• Firecracker (2 gp) | Wind-up Toy (6 gp)
• Unique, mysterious Items (see image above)*

The players recently took a long rest, and low and behold, they drew Fenton as their next encounter. DM will have a down-and-dirty printout of this list for his players to peruse in our next session.

3DRPG is all about continuous improvement, so our next scheduled DnD session can be as fun as possible. Coincidentally, a highly anticipated Kickstarter came to our doorstep the other day, and one of those RPG accessories is the perfect fit for ol’ Fenton.

Worlds at a Glance: 5E tools to describe towns, shops, and NPCs was a highly successful Kickstarter campaign in 2024. The thought and detail they put into their DnD 5e supplements are top-notch. Our favorite is the Towns & Villages Shop Cards. No more frantic book table searches that bring your game to a screeching halt! These TTRPG item cards are simply perfect.

These shop cards are of the highest quality and will save any DM a ton of time. You get two copies of each card (80 cards in all) to pass the applicable shop’s available wares around the table. We just can’t say enough good things about these various shop cards (including Black Market, Harbor, Tavern, Inn, Jeweler, Potion Shop, and on and on and on).

In addition to our home-brewed curated list above, he will have the items on the five General Shop cards. DM Ben will create a house rule where any d20 roll of 1-3 means a previous customer beat the player to that item.

You have noticed all those papers bursting out of Fenton’s oversized backpack. DM Ben wanted to have some fun with our Wandering Merchant miniature by Crippled God Foundry and include some one-time spell scrolls in his offerings. So, he grabbed some Pathfinder item cards and some Wizkids Spellbook Cards to make a few more handouts.

Assembly was a snap. One clear card sleeve with a scroll on the front and then a spell card on the opposite side. Easy peasy, right?! We made the following: Detect Magic (50 gp), Find Traps (50 gp), Magic Missle (100 gp), Knock (100 gp), Misty Step (100 gp), and Animate Dead (250 gp).

But wait! There’s more! Next, DM Ben grabbed his coveted Game Master’s Fantasy Toolkit book by Roll & Play Press! This wire-bound (why aren’t all books like this?) D&D supplement has a table for everything. We’re constantly flipping through it for new game ideas and inspiration.

One table leaped out at us: Bargain Spell Scrolls. Fenton buys and trades from all sorts of folks, and let’s be honest, sometimes a particular seller can be a bit slim shady. Naturally, he can’t verify every item in his inventory, and occasionally, an edgier item slips through quality control.

He’s willing to sell the group plenty of handy spell scrolls, including Knock, Detect Magic, Misty Step, and so on. However, sometimes a particular item isn’t what it seems.

So, DM Ben picked two from Roll & Play Press’ nifty table: Visibility & Water Talking. Our merchant wants to unload these for 50 GP each (rather than 100 gp & 250 gp respectively). The crackpot Wizard that initially traded these two spell scrolls to Fenton didn’t do a very good job transposing the arcane magic to paper. Alas, when the player goes to cast one, an unintended effect will go off!

Imagine your player going to cast what he thinks is Invisibility and instead becomes “bright orange and luminous” for one minute. #Oops. Besides, nothing is more amusing to DM Ben than unexpected events at his game table.

See how our traveling NPC merchant encounter just improved exponentially?! We came up with a short list of offerings, crafted several unique magic items, added some extremely useful shop cards, and even mixed in a few bargain scrolls to keep the group on its toes! Wonderful.

Until next time!

The post Where, Oh Where Are Those Traveling Wares? appeared first on 3DRPG.

Gamers don’t want dull calendars on their walls. They want something with a little flair that reminds them that their next sesh is happening sooner rather than later! Right?!

Enter Loke Battle Mats and their Calendar of Many Adventures. It’s been a favorite in our annual Holiday Gift Guide for two years running. The 2025 calendar includes 12 maps and 12 5e adventures for levels 3-9, with plenty of great artwork.

Loke Battle Mats was kind enough to send us a 2025 Calendar so we could kick the tires and see if this one is as good as 2024 (which was excellent btw). We kept our initial Investigation Check simple and flipped to January for its monthly adventure!

Each setting has everything you need: the map, the adventure hook, detailed encounters, monster stats, item stats, and what might be next after the mini-adventure is played.

The adventure, called “An Unquiet Night”, is an eleven-page PDF that you download via a QR code right on the calendar. All 12 adventures are also in a zip file with a PDF for each month of the year. Even better, you can sync it all up on DriveThruRPG.com. We might even laminate a few of our favs.

Each adventure is well-written and organized, with DMs having zero problems running a one-game for the evening. Check out our setup below.

With the adventure in hand, the next step was to set it up for actual gameplay. You certainly don’t have to place down specific miniatures and scatter terrain, but come on, this is 3DRPG. The setting here is simple enough – a campsite within some ruins.

We set our map down and started pondering what DnD pieces we’d pull from our joyous TTRPG collection to make the map look even cooler and more engaging for the players. Here, we determine we need to find some outdoor-ish 3D prints like tents, a campfire, some wall ruins, etc.

This setting was right up our alley! We pulled some slick tents, a cooking campfire, a few bedrolls, some accent logs, and even a fresh grave (maybe from a recently fallen comrade), which fit on the Loke Battle Mats map perfectly. Looks pretty great, right?!

For the monsters, ghosts were an easy miniature to grab. We purchased some really cool metal miniatures out of a value box at Gen Con many moons ago. Pretty darn cool, right?!

And just like that, you can be done with all your Dungeon Master prep and put on an engaging, quick game after a weekend dinner with some game buds. All this from a handy DnD calendar, twelve different times for $20 (now $9.99) – count us in!

Lastly, we’re all about value and reusability here at 3DRPG Studios, so we’ll take this excellent premade adventure and turn it into one of our Kinda Sorta Portal table entries. Loke Battle Mats already helped us last time with their Coast of Dread Adventure Box, so we’ll happily add another from their 2025 Calendar.

Our players will inadvertently teleport to this mysterious campsite only to learn it’s not actually ghosts attacking some snoozing adventurers. Instead, the Spirits themselves are the ones doing the camping! Our three doomed ghosts are none too happy with the uninvited guests and will demand that everyone roll for initiative.

Now, all that’s left to do is update our Kinda Sorta Portal table, which is a mix of dangerous and potentially more passive encounters.

Until next time!

The post Date Night appeared first on 3DRPG.

Like last year, we’ve got a whole new set of gift ideas that come in all shapes and sizes. And as we all know, gamers don’t really like being rushed, so we wanted to get these latest present picks to you toot sweet! Still, our 2023 gift guide has plenty of timeless ideas, so be sure to peruse those shiny things, too!

For organizational purposes, we’ve divided the irresistible DnD items into three categories: Stocking Stuffers, Present Picks, and Gamers in Training. A good RPG partner covers all their Xmas bases to ensure maximum happiness for one and all on Christmas morning.

Stocking Stuffers
Size matters for our initial category; there’s only so much room in those stockings hung with care, but gamers love little things in small packages, so let’s get those gift ideas flowing!

MyMiniFactory.com and Patreon.com Subscriptions ($5 to $15): Let’s start with the simplest gift prep while carrying a lasting impact. Go to the bank for some crisp bills, slip them into a Santa card (like these from Loke Battlemats), and write a note like, “The gift that keeps on 3D printing.”

Beauty is in the eyes of the Beholder in terms of what a maker is actually offering in any given month, so it’s tricky to rank our ongoing favorites but these five have quality models, extremely reasonable prices, and are a near lock for any given month:

• Brite Minis ($5-ish)
• Cast n Play Terrain Essentials ($9-ish)
• STL Miniatures ($9-ish)
• Dragon Trappers Lodge ($13-ish)
• Loot Studios ($15-ish)

Infinite Dimensions Games (fantasy buildings), Milestone Heroes (terrain tiles), and Aether Studios (Hovertrain series) round off our honorable mentions depending on your current 3D-printing focus. We’ve done them all over extensive periods and highly recommend their quality work and reasonable prices.

Viridian Random Generator Dice ($6.00): One of our favorite dice makers, they have several must-owns, including the Random Treasure Generator, Trap Generator, Class Generator, Weather Generator, and Monster Generator. What better way for each player to thank their tireless DM for a year of marvelous game memories, right?

Terrain Pastes and Water Effects ($10.50 to $14.50): These slip into your stocking like butta. We’ve featured these products on numerous posts, but some staples deserve a spotlight here. AKI Diorama Effects Water Gel is our go-to material for all things wet (along with their excellent Puddles product).

We also love Vallejo Dark Earth Gel, which is incredibly handy. We use it to cover up print mistakes and annoying gaps and apply it to many of our bases.

FDM Deburring Tool ($13.95): Next up is the perfect tool to remove those pesky brims on your FDM prints. AFA Tooling makes a deburring tool that you can use to run around your curvy 3D print to remove that extra filament material in a snap. We use it every day on our completed Prusa files.

Cutters ($7) and Trigger Handles ($12): While you’re at it, add these small wire cutters and spray paint primer trigger handles, too! These cutters take off pesky supports on your resin prints and are also handy when changing a filament roll on your FDM printer. And these primer spray can handles are a lifesaver for your poor thumbs.

Clear Round Miniature Bases ($11.99) & Acrylic Cement ($16.99): All the credit goes to YouTube’s Miniature Hobbyist for utilizing clear bases for your 3D prints. These bases allow the terrain underneath a miniature or scatter terrain piece to shine through. We love the LITKO brand, and its corresponding glue works like a champ.

3D Printer Adhesive Glue Bed ($22.99): FDM plates can be pretty finicky, and after a while, the print bed’s adhesion just wears down. This magical bottle of glueness is an absolute lifesaver. We apply it once a week, and we don’t get nearly as many failed prints. Keep a bottle on your shelf at all times.

Presents Picks (for under the tree)
Gamers love presents…and they especially love unwrapping TTRPG gifts, so get ready for our favorite picks in 2024.

We’re opening with what we think is the painter’s present of the year: the Krydrufi Cleaning and Brush Holder Modular Set. This marvelous contraption is rinsed and refilled every weekend of the year. The two main containers can be used for brush cleaning, rinsing, and storage. The four side clips hold your brushes vertically to dry and can be moved to different sides as needed. We absolutely love this beauty!

Calendar of Many Adventures 2025 Edition ($16.99): This is the only gift to make back-to-back appearances on our Gamer Gift Guide, and for good reason. Sure, we all need a calendar to battle DnD’s enemy number one – game night scheduling. However, Loke Battlemats doubles up on the utility by including a map and downloadable scenario for each month of the year. It’s a must-purchase for your loved ones and game buddies.

The Army Painter Speedpaints ($39.99 to $47.50): What a time to be a hobby painter! These new concoctions make coloring your towering pile of shame much, much easier. We like the Speedpaint 2.0 Starter Set, Fanatic Starter Set, and the Fanatic Wash Set. Plus, you can never have enough paint in reserve! We have the entire collection here at 3DRPG Studios, and it’s heavenly.

Dice Holders ($34.99): Perfect for the gamer in your adventuring party. These new handcrafted wooden dice boxes by Etsy artisan Pro100Wood hold five of your favorite dice sets and make game night travel a snap. You can even pick from a myriad of designs for the cover. DM Ben picked up one for each player in our family campaign as a fun surprise. He even included a fifty-dollar bill (inside a cool Loke Battlemat gift card envelope) on the felt for a little spending money. The maker is based in Ukraine (zero issues with shipping), so it’s a nice, indirect way to show some support for the daily heck those poor citizens are going through daily.

2024 DnD Player Mat 5e Rules Edition ($38): Total Party Chill makes back-to-back gift guide appearances with their new 2024 5e DnD player version. Is there any better way to get comfy with the newest edition than having all the core rule tweaks right at your gaming fingertips?! We think not! The time-saver mat is legit high quality and is fun to roll on while also keeping those pesky beverage rings off your gal’s beloved table. We plan on ordering the 2024 DM Player mat when that eventually releases in 2025. You can even watch a rousing edition of their ongoing “This Game is Cursed” YouTube series.

Alchemy, Crafting & Enchanting by Nord Games ($50): This fab book contains countless tables for the harvesting and foraging of ingredients, hundreds of recipes for both new and existing items, and 200 brand-new, ready-to-use magic items. It’s our favorite D&D book supplement of 2024! You get DCs for monsters, plants, etc., and then on a successful roll, that precious ingredient is yours and can ultimately be used to make a new potion or fill any essential spell components. So fun!

Ikea Display Case ($37.99): 3D printing hobbyists take immense pride in their final work, so get your best prints out of those dark storage containers and messy piles and put them on the wall for all your adorning friends and family to see. DM Ben has an entire main wall of his office covered in these sturdy, affordable display cases by Ikea.

Gamers in Training
Uncle DM Ben loves to give his little ones fun DnD-themed holiday items. Gotta get hook ’em while they’re young, right?!

Jumbo Foam Polyhedral Dice ($23.99): Pretty much every new baby by our friends and family gets these beauties as a present. These spongy and safe rolling shapes of beauty are huge hit and buy us some time until we can finally pass them a real set of DnD dice.

The 123s of D&D Book ($14.99): Every youngling loves a good story, so why not plant those DnD seeds ASAP with this delightful bedtime book?! Uncle DM Ben reads this one often to his nieces and nephews and even pulls out specific miniatures from the book so they can marvel at them. Super fun!

Lastly, please be sure to review our 2023 Holiday Gift Guide, as there’s a slew of swell suggestions there too. We try to bring you new ideas each year and not just repeat the same old ones.

We’ll also probably slip in a few more updates as we always think of a few more presents during our countdown to Santa!

The post Holiday Gift Guide 2024 appeared first on 3DRPG.