D&D Miniature Markers and Converters

thingiverse

As a seasoned Dungeons & Dragons DM for 5e, I typically start with collectible miniatures and then supplement them with 3D printed versions when they're too expensive or haven't been produced yet. Since starting my collection fairly recently (mainly through Icons of the Realms sets), I've accumulated many duplicates that can be tricky to track individually when they all get placed on the map at once. I'm constantly looking for ways to streamline game mechanics when dealing with large groups of creatures, and I really liked the concept behind https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2319576, but struggled to see the numbers from a distance in dimly lit environments, and didn't appreciate the creatures spilling over into other squares any more than they had to. After several iterations, I landed on printing markers that transform a circle into a square, using friction to hold the miniature in place. I also made sure to open up the sides enough so that I can pry it back out by using the base rather than the model itself. This keeps miniatures out of surrounding squares while quickly individualizing them, allows me to produce as many variations as I have filament and can distinguish by color, and has the added benefit of stabilizing some of my miniatures that are inherently unbalanced. The models are pretty straightforward to print, but you may want to use a brim on the larger ones to prevent warping, and you'll need to dial in the tolerances of your printer before mass producing. Too big will not hold the miniature at all, and too small will either not fit or flex the marker causing it to become unstable as it rests on three of the four sides. You'll also become more aware of size variations in your miniature bases, particularly the old 40mm ones. I've included markers for 20mm, 25mm, 50mm, and 75mm bases. You could really use any of the markers and just rescale them on the x and y axis if you want to fit other dimensions. You could also scale Z, but I personally prefer the aesthetic of having it match the top of the miniature base, and any taller would be wasted filament. I've also included converters from 25mm to 50mm (for enlarged creatures), 40mm to 50mm (for older style 40mm bases that are supposed to be large), and 50mm to 75mm (for dragons and giants that were produced at the wrong size in the Tyranny of Dragons season). EDIT: I've opened up the license. The idea behind this design was that it serves miniature collectors just as well as folks who use a 3D printer to create their collections, so I'm removing any barriers that would keep those two groups from helping each other out.