Put your Hero Forge character on the table
Hero Forge is where most players' characters already live. Getting that character onto a virtual tabletop depends on what Hero Forge exports and what the VTT accepts, and the answers are less obvious than either site makes them sound. Here is what works with TerrainTale today, including the route that costs nothing.
What Hero Forge actually exports
Three things, as we understand it at the time of writing. Free: a screenshot of your design as a PNG, from the editor. Paid, per mini: a 3D Digital download for virtual tabletops, distributed as a .unity3d asset bundle for Tabletop Simulator, plus an Access Key that lets partner VTTs (TaleSpire and others) sync your minis directly. Paid, per mini: an STL for 3D printing, which carries shape but no colour.
TerrainTale imports .glb, the standard web 3D format, and images. Hero Forge does not export .glb, so there are two honest routes.
The free route: a standee token in a minute
In the Hero Forge editor, take a screenshot of your character with a plain background and save the PNG. Drop the image on the TerrainTale window and it becomes a standee: a base, a name, HP, a size, a place in initiative, and a figure that faces the camera like a cardboard pawn. Most players stop here; it is their exact character, in colour, and it took less time than reading this paragraph.
The 3D route: STL to .glb
If you have bought the STL, open it in Blender (free), scale it to about a person's height against a five-foot square, give it a material or a vertex-painted colour (the STL has none), and export as glTF Binary (.glb). Drop the .glb on the window. It stands in its square with a base, lit by the scene's torches, and casts a shadow. It will not be animated, since the STL is a static sculpt; the library's own minis are. Ten minutes the first time, two after that.
What is not built
There is no Hero Forge Access Key integration, so purchased 3D Digital minis do not sync automatically the way they do into TaleSpire, and the .unity3d bundle cannot be imported. That is the honest gap, and this page will change if it closes.
Questions
Can I import a Hero Forge .unity3d file?
No. That format is for Tabletop Simulator. Use the free screenshot as a standee, or convert a purchased STL to .glb.
Does the free screenshot really work as a token?
Yes. Any image becomes a standee token with a base; a PNG of your character on a plain background looks right on the table.
Will my Hero Forge mini be animated?
A converted STL is a static figure. The library's built-in characters are rigged and animated.
How big should the model be?
About one square wide and roughly 1.2 units tall for a Medium character, matching the library. Scale in Blender before export, or set the size on the mini afterwards.
Will Access Key sync be added?
It is not built today. If it is, it will appear here first.
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