How do you make effective game use of WotC's Dungeon Tiles?

[Klaus]

My biggest issue with the sets is, with a few small exceptions, the tile dimensions are the same set to set. Lots of 8x8s, 4x4s, 8x4s, 2x8s, etc. It makes it difficult to recreated dungeons from modules with rooms of odd dimensions (and I'm not talking weird shaped rooms - I'd love to see some 3x7s, 5x5s, 5x7s, 3x3s etc for a greater variety of room shapes).

Which is why I mentioned I find it easier to lay down a larger battlemap (say, 17x22"), or a couple of the large (8x10) tiles and use smaller tiles or blank paper to "block out" walls.

 

[darkbard]

Thanks for the replies so far, one and all. There is much to be gleaned here, and especially I hadn't considered abandoning the need to recreate published adventure sites precisely, but I am still left feeling like there must be better ways to implement the tiles. Maybe if WotC included a list of potential tiles usable for each adventure? Perhaps that's impractical. Dunno....

 

[Spinachcat]

I bought all the sets and I enjoy them. I flip through my tiles and minis, grab stuff that looks interesting and work the story around them.

I ran an RPGA adventure where they gave a full list of the tiles needed, but it took forever to get it right. For published adventures, I would use a battle map and the tiles as flavor bits.

At the Gateway convention, I ran an impromptu 4e event and the minis quickly let me built two very cool encounter zones in 5 minutes of prep.

 

[pedr]

I ran five slots of LFR at GenCon UK, using Dungeon Tiles. The LFR adventures do have a list of the tiles you need, though some are horribly impractical (one starts in an inn and uses the table + two chairs 2x2 tile from (I think) Fane of the Forgotten Gods ten times, despite there only being one in the set. There are ways around it, of course - I used the holes in the ground tiles plus dry-erase markers to mark the other tables.

It does take a while to set out the map, particularly the first time. I practiced before the slot, so I could remember the best way to arrange all the tiles, then bagged up individual encounters in different plastic wallets so I'd have everything together. I don't think it took me longer than drawing on a wet-erase battlemat, took far less time (and mess!) to clear up, and had the added advantage that the bits I wouldn't have bothered to draw out - areas where there's no combat but you perhaps want the players to think there might be - could just be arranged on the fly, with minimal dressing ("right, make me a 10x2 corridor and put yourselves at one end, please" and let the players move the tiles around while you describe what they see!)

 

[zaxzilla]

I have different sets in different wide shallow disposable (cheap) tupperware like containers. I have extra large cork-boards that usually go on the wall. I put felt feet on the back and now they sit nicely on the table top. I arrange the tiles pre-game on the cork board, and pin the outer corners and edges with old-school brass tacks. I pin them with the outer horizontal head of the tack so i don't have to pierce the tiles themselves. I then cover the unknown areas with paper and pull off the paper as the new areas are disocovered. If I have to transport the whole cork board, I cover the whole thing in cling wrap and transport the board horizontally.

Tiles are making me give up the modules though. I print out monster stat blocks on printable post cards which has made stuff really fast. But recreating the rooms of a module with the tiles is way too time consuming. At this point with 4e so easy to Dm, I'm going to just design my own adventures from now on which I think will be quicker than trying to recreate the module encounters with the tiles.

 

[amnuxoll]

I have some friends who love them and some who hate them. I think the bottom line is: Is it worth the extra time required to lay them out to get a visually appealing battle area? 4e's emphasis on dynamic combat environments certainly raises the stakes a bit. For now, though, my dungeon tiles are still sitting on shrink wrap on my shelf. I prefer to get combats underway immediately and make them exciting with imagination rather than art.

:AMN:

 

[Aluvial]

I find that the best way to use the tiles is to use a highlighter on your map. Let me explain.

Basically, draw out your map. Then sort the tiles in similar shaped bags. Specific art really doesn't matter (except for the wilderness green and the desert yellow).

Then start picking the tiles out and matching them to your map. Big tiles first, then smaller ones. Use a highlighter on the map to show where tile breaks are.

The best thing (I've found) to use with the tiles is a LARGE corkboard. Lay it on the table, grab up the first tile marker from the edge of your map, and pin the outside edge with with a push pin. Continue building the dungeon/encounter using other pins on the outside to hold the tiles in place. This keeps anything from shifting.

If you cannot get the tiles to match exactly, don't worry about it. The effect is nice, better than a plain battle map, and is just a way to get the players into the grid movement thing better. I use little pieces of scotch tape to stick tiles on top of each other. The tape comes right off when you are done with no harm to the tiles and keeps the tiles from shifting.

In fact, I'm now experimeting with raising higher areas off of the board with my kid's duplex blocks (big legos). A little tape, and you have different heights.

Aluvial

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Tiles are making me give up the modules though. I print out monster stat blocks on printable post cards which has made stuff really fast. But recreating the rooms of a module with the tiles is way too time consuming. At this point with 4e so easy to Dm, I'm going to just design my own adventures from now on which I think will be quicker than trying to recreate the module encounters with the tiles.

It depends a lot on the quality of the stories you can come up with vs. the stories you find in the modules. And don't discount the innovativeness of some encounter setups. Most people are probably good enough of that, but coming up with these ideas takes still a lot of time.
Just a small "concern" - I think if you have the time, building own adventures is often enough superior to using modules, since you can tailor the story and events better to your group.

 

[Hawkwind]

For the H series i use tiles for corridors and simple rooms . For every thing else i scan it and cut and paste into word . I then re scale it and print the room onto card .

 

[Klaus]

It depends a lot on the quality of the stories you can come up with vs. the stories you find in the modules. And don't discount the innovativeness of some encounter setups. Most people are probably good enough of that, but coming up with these ideas takes still a lot of time.
Just a small "concern" - I think if you have the time, building own adventures is often enough superior to using modules, since you can tailor the story and events better to your group.

A middle ground is to use the published adventures, but remake the encounter areas based on the tiles. For instance, the first dungeon room in H1 is a 6x6 room. But there's no 6x6 tile yet. Instead of spending 10 minutes searching for the best way to build a 6x6 room, slap down an 8x10 and be done with it.