Whether it’s DnD or a video game, nobody likes a sewer level. Known for repetitive environments that are frustratingly hard to navigate, full of dull gray, green, and icky brown colors, and containing boring fights and boring puzzles, they, to be frank, stink. But DnD crafter RP Archive has set out to show how modular RPG sewer terrain can be made in an affordable way that allows for enormous, epic fantasy sewer builds “far more interesting than dirty little square streams with side paving”.
If your campaign takes place in Baldur’s Gate, Waterdeep, or one of the many other famous DnD cities, eventually your party is probably going to have to venture into the sewers to combat a cult with no sense of smell or flush out an iconic DnD monster (no pun intended). If you like to represent your DnD maps on the tabletop, then this YouTuber shows how you can forgo expensive tilesets and create your own modular terrain using cheap materials: foam, resin, card, and a few 3D printed accessories for added flavor.
RP Archives’ modular method allows you to create DnD sewers, with vast, suspiciously brown waterfalls, and resin-filled waterways that your players will very much want to avoid falling into. In the video, they also create terrain for empty sewers using curved blocks, to create huge abandoned curved tunnels that big monsters can chase you down, and little monsters can climb along using magnets.
His video includes handy methods to speed up the process – like using a brick stamp and a mallet to squish foam into the correct textures for walls. It also includes a number of methods for cutting down the cost, by limiting the amount of resin used, or taking it out altogether.
While he says everything could be handmade with materials like plasticard with sufficient dedication, much of RP Archive’s decoration – various doors, grates, wall sconces, and tentacles – are printed off using custom-designed STLs. If you’re seeking 3D printers for miniatures, check out our recommendations. And if you’re looking for something to put in all that terrain, check out the best DnD minis.