Product Spotlight: WildBot3D
Published on March 16, 2021, Last modified on May 7th, 2021
We reviewed 3D-printed condition rings and initiative trackers sent to us by WildBot3D!
Table of Contents
The items reviewed in this article were sent to Arcane Eye free of charge.
In this product spotlight, we will be reviewing the Condition Rings: Expanded Set and Customizable Initiative Trackers from WildBot3D.
What is WildBot3D?
WildBot3D is a father and son, US-based online retailer that sells all kinds of D&D and board game accessories. In 2019, they started with one second-hand 3D printer, selling 3D printed D&D products on Etsy. Now, they have expanded their line to ten 3D printers and have had their products sold all over the web, including eBay, Amazon, and their own online store.
Condition Rings: Expanded Set
Condition rings are used to track status effects across multiple combatants in tabletop settings. WildBot3D’s Expanded Set features 100 condition rings that represent a ton of 5e specific conditions including Invisible, Incapacitated, Hunter’s Mark, Concentration, Charmed, and more! For a full list of the rings included in the Extended Set, click here.
Color
Color is an extremely important aspect of condition rings. Because 5e has so many conditions, the condition markers must be easy to see against the battlefield backdrop, and the condition they are representing must be easily identified when glancing over the battlefield.
I think WildBot3D has done a great job with the color on these rings. A common issue with 3D printing is that colors can be washed out or improperly mixed, but these are all vibrant and well defined.
The rings also come in a wide variety of colors, each customized to the specific condition they are representing. Many of the colors are logical choices, such as black for Blinded, pink for Charmed, and green for Poisoned. The not-so-obvious choices, such as blue for concentration, red/black for haste, and pink/blue for flying, all stand out very well, making each condition easily recognized at a glance.
Details
The fine details of these condition rings are excellent. WildBot3D’s rings sport a unique look, with a thin band of color attached to the text “hanging” off of the ring. . This is a really cool aesthetic choice that isn’t really seen elsewhere on other condition rings on the market.
Because most of the rings are the same color as the text, the text is raised off of the ring to make the condition more legible. I think this is another nice detail and helps provide texture and legibility to the ring’s design.
Each ring has a 1” (25mm) opening that fits snugly on standard miniatures. These condition rings are great for saving space on game mats due to their sleek design and compact text. If two creatures are in adjacent grids and both have conditions, you can turn the condition rings to the outside so that you don’t have to shift or stack the miniatures to position them properly.
When you look closely, you’ll notice that the rings are made of one solid piece of plastic. I quite like the texture given by the thin lines from the 3D printing process, especially on the bottom/sides of the text.
Because of the way WildBot3D designed these condition rings, they do have a “right side up”. You will need to make sure the rings are facing the correct way when laying them down or they become illegible.
Durability
These rings may look fragile, but they are very durable. I have tested dropping the rings off of tables of varying heights onto a variety of floor types and they have never broken. The only way you could break these rings is to crush them (i.e rolling over them with a desk chair) or to physically snap them (i.e when you get extremely salty because your stunned character gets hit with the third advantaged attack in a row and goes down).
What is the Verdict?
Overall, I really like these condition rings and would certainly recommend them to any DM that plays with miniatures in-person. They look good, are durable, and come with a huge variety of conditions so you are never going to have to improvise a marker to signify a condition.
Customizable Initiative Trackers
WildBot3D’s initiative trackers clip onto the top of your DM screen to make the turn order easily viewable. They feature a slot in the front and the back to allow the order to be seen by both players and DMs.
The pack comes with 12 trackers, and you can choose either all black, all red, or half black half red. In my opinion, this is a perfect amount of trackers for most 5e combat, especially because I typically lump similar creatures together to streamline initiative. This usually means 2 or 3 trackers will be used in a typical combat, plus the character’s trackers, which leaves enough left over to plan a second encounter if needed.
These trackers are quite flexible in their usage and can be used in a number of different ways to track initiative:
- WildBot3D’s Custom Labels
- Pen & Paper
- Wet-Erase
Below we will explore the prep time, wastefulness, and aesthetics of each option.
WildBot3D’s Custom Labels
Prep time: PCs only: Medium, All creatures: High
Wastefulness: PCs only: Low, All creatures: High
Aesthetics: PCs only: High, All creatures: High
WildBot3D provides custom software to create perfect-sized labels for their initiative trackers. Using this software, you can easily create printable labels that have the character’s names for the DM to see and an avatar for the players to see.
This option is perfect for long-term player characters or reoccurring NPCs, but I wouldn’t suggest using them for each encounter. Over the course of many sessions that will result in a lot of wasted paper/printer ink and will be quite time-consuming.
Pen & Paper
Prep time: Low
Wastefulness: Medium
Aesthetics: Low
If you are in a pinch or don’t have a printer, you can cut out 28mm wide strips of paper, write names on them, and slot them into the initiative trackers. This is a quick and easy solution that gets the job done but isn’t particularly pretty.
When cutting the strips of paper, the player side will need to be at least 45mm tall and the DM side will need to be at least 25mm tall. I would recommend leaving a couple of millimeters on top to make removal easier.
Wet-Erase
Prep time: Low after initial setup
Wastefulness: Low
Aesthetics: Medium
This is probably the best solution for those one-time combatants because, after the initial setup, it will be as quick as pen and paper but the trackers can be reused.
This solution up comes with a tiny bit of DIY setup, explained below:
- Cover paper in packing tape or purchase a whiteboard sheet.
- Cut inserts to match the dimensions mentioned in the Pen & Paper section.
- Insert into WildBot3D’s initiative trackers and decorate with wet/dry erase markers (make sure they are thin-tipped).
Details/Durability
I really like the design and detailing of the initiative trackers. They are shaped roughly like shields and have notching on the sides, giving them an interesting feel.
In terms of durability, much like the condition rings, these will survive everything short of intentional destruction. They are made of rigid plastic and have easily survived drops from varying heights onto varying flooring.
What is the Verdict?
The initiative trackers are simple, versatile, and effective. I really like the way they clip onto the DM screen, as opposed to taking up space somewhere else on the table.
Not only are WildBot3D’s accessories great value for the price, but they are also extremely durable and have unique, well-thought-out designs. If you are looking to pick up some D&D products to help your game flow smoother and want to support a US-based, family business, I highly recommend WildBot3D’s products!
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