John Cooper
Explorer
DUNGEON TILES II: ARCANE CORRIDORS
Designed by Andy Collins, Jesse Decker, David Noonan, and Christopher Perkins
Wizards of the Coast product number DT2
$9.95
Dungeon Tiles II: Arcane Corridors (which I will refer to as simple Arcane Corridors from now on) is the second in the series of punch-out, pressed-cardboard tiles suitable for use with miniatures. As you might expect from the title, many of the tiles have a "wizard's lab" or "arcane spell effect" focus.
I really can't think of a better way to review this product than to run through each of the six pressed-cardboard "sheets" that you get with it, so you can see what you'll be getting. I'll mention up front that each of the tiles is marked off into one-inch squares (either with lines along each square's edge or with small markings at the intersections), perfectly scaled as 5-ft. squares for D&D or D&D Miniatures. To make it easier to see which tiles are which, I'll start off with the front of a tile as normal, [and then put the description of the back of the tile in brackets]. The following tiles come in the set:
I've read on the EN World messageboards that some people have experimented (with good results) with drawing on the tiles and wiping them off afterwards. I haven't been so brave with my set, but I pass the information on to those willing to give it a try.
Arcane Corridors is an excellent addition to the Dungeon Tiles line, and while it stands alone just fine, combined with the first set (or another copy of this set) it adds even more possibilities to your dungeon layouts. I know my set is going to see much use for years to come. And at $9.95, it's cheaper than a D&D Miniatures expansion pack and likely to see much more use than all but your most common figures. I give the set a rating of "5 (Superb)."
Designed by Andy Collins, Jesse Decker, David Noonan, and Christopher Perkins
Wizards of the Coast product number DT2
$9.95
Dungeon Tiles II: Arcane Corridors (which I will refer to as simple Arcane Corridors from now on) is the second in the series of punch-out, pressed-cardboard tiles suitable for use with miniatures. As you might expect from the title, many of the tiles have a "wizard's lab" or "arcane spell effect" focus.
I really can't think of a better way to review this product than to run through each of the six pressed-cardboard "sheets" that you get with it, so you can see what you'll be getting. I'll mention up front that each of the tiles is marked off into one-inch squares (either with lines along each square's edge or with small markings at the intersections), perfectly scaled as 5-ft. squares for D&D or D&D Miniatures. To make it easier to see which tiles are which, I'll start off with the front of a tile as normal, [and then put the description of the back of the tile in brackets]. The following tiles come in the set:
- Sheet 1: An empty room, 40 ft. by 50 ft. [The ground floor of an octagonal wizard's tower (30 feet in diameter), complete with front door, two sets of stairs leading up to the level above (where there are arrow slits allowing for both light and defense), and a set of spiral stairs leading down to a lower level.]
- Sheet 2: Another 40-ft.-by-50-ft. room, this one a wizard's laboratory, with three magic circles inscribed on the floor, two tables (one holds 4 rolled-up scrolls, the other holds an open book), and two 5-ft.-square cages. [The same octagonal tower shape as the back of the first tile, and it has the same spiral staircase leading up to the crenellated rooftop of the wizard's tower, only it should be pointed out that the spiral stairs are rising in a clockwise direction on this tile but a counterclockwise direction on the first tile.] (I think the first tile should have had its stairs going in the other direction, leading upwards instead of downwards.)
- Sheet 3: A 20-ft.-by-40-ft. corridor flanked by four displacer beast statues. [A 15-ft.-by-35-ft. pool flanked by a 2-1/2-ft. border along the edges.]
An empty 20-ft.-square room. [A 20-ft.-square section of stone floor with a burning eye symbol painted in the center.]
A 20-ft.-square room with an arcane glyph carved onto each 5-ft. square. [A 20-ft.-square section of stone floor with a burning column of fire in the middle.]
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of corridor. [A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of flame, possibly from a fire-based spell trap; it could also be useful as the boundaries of a wall of fire spell.]
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of corridor. [A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of stairs.] - Sheet 4: A 20-ft.-by-40-ft. empty corridor or room. [A 20-ft.-by-40-ft. section covered in swirling mists/vapors, seeing potential use as an obscuring mist tile or similar spell effect.]
An empty 20-ft.-square room. [A 20-ft.-square section of reddish stone, possibly blood-soaked.]
A 20-ft.-square room, bordered by magical glyphs along the edges, inside which sits a table holding 3 scrolls, an open book, and a skull, and a chair made of bones. [A 20-ft.-square pit trap with a skeleton at the bottom.]
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of room, half of which is covered by a bookshelf. [A black section with no lines or borders, covered with a scattering of grayish specks. I'm not quite sure what this is supposed to be used as - impassable rubble, perhaps?]
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of room, half of which is covered by a bookshelf. [A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of stairs.] - Sheet 5: A 10-ft.-by-40-ft. section of empty corridor. [A 10-ft.-by-40-ft. section of lightning, perfect for an electricity-based magical trap or a lightning bolt spell.]
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of empty corridor. [A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of flame, possibly from a fire-based spell trap.] (Yes, this is a duplicate of a tile from Sheet 3.)
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of empty corridor. [A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of stone floor bisected along its long axis by a wall with a top-down view of a massive iron door, some 15 feet wide. (It's possibly a double door.)]
Another tile exactly like the one directly above. [Ditto.]
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of empty corridor. [A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of stone with a black dragon skeleton in a heap on the floor.]
A 10-ft.-square empty room or corridor. [A fire in the middle of a circular stone border.]
Another tile exactly like the one directly above. [Ditto.]
A 10-ft.-square empty room or corridor. [A 10-ft.-square pit trap with spikes at the bottom, pointed up in an excellent 3-D effect.]
A 5-ft.-by-10-ft. section of empty corridor. [A double wooden door.]
Another tile almost like the one directly above, except for some reason the lines dividing the tile into two squares is off-kilter. [A double wooden door, with the "square-marking" lines lined up correctly.]
A 5-ft.-by-10-ft. section of rubble. [A 5-ft.-by-10-ft. section of magical, glowing, purple energy.]
A 5-ft.-by-10-ft. section of rubble. [A 5-ft.-by-10-ft. section of magical, glowing, blue energy.]
A 5-ft.-square blank tile. [A 5-ft.-square black tile with very faint rubble, perhaps useful in "blocking off" a square from a different tile.] - Sheet 6: A 10-ft.-by-40-ft. section of empty corridor. [A series of four pews in a row, each with an embroidered rug in front of it.]
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of empty corridor. [A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of black tile with faint rubble in a lighter color, perhaps used to "block off" a section of a larger tile.]
Another tile exactly like the one directly above. [Ditto.]
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of empty corridor. [A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of stone floor, bisected along its long axis by an energy door of some type (possibly a wall of force or similar effect).]
A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of empty corridor. [A 10-ft.-by-20-ft. section of stone floor, bisected along its long axis by what used to be a stone or iron door until somebody smashed it open.]
A 10-ft.-square empty room or corridor. [In what qualifies as the oddest tile yet, a 10-ft.-square section of stone floor with a large, pointy-tooth-filled mouth and wriggling tongue. I'm not sure what this is supposed to be used for - surely not a magic mouth, but that's the only thing that comes to mind. Are there any "floor mouth" monsters out there that I'm not aware of? Maybe this tile allows you to turn a larger tile into a mimic or something.]
A 10-ft.-square empty room or corridor. [A 10-ft.-diameter spider web.]
A 10-ft.-square empty room or corridor, with a different glyph carved onto each of the four squares in the room. [A 10-ft.-diameter spider web.]
A 5-ft.-by-10-ft. empty room or corridor. [What looks to be a raised dais or platform, draped with an engraved cloth and holding two magical light sources.]
A 5-ft.-by-10-ft. empty room or corridor. [A standard door and a connecting wall.]
Another tile exactly like the one directly above. [Ditto.]
Another tile exactly like the one directly above. [Ditto.]
A 5-ft.-square blank tile. [A 5-ft.-square pile of skulls, the perfect addition to a monster's lair.]
I've read on the EN World messageboards that some people have experimented (with good results) with drawing on the tiles and wiping them off afterwards. I haven't been so brave with my set, but I pass the information on to those willing to give it a try.
Arcane Corridors is an excellent addition to the Dungeon Tiles line, and while it stands alone just fine, combined with the first set (or another copy of this set) it adds even more possibilities to your dungeon layouts. I know my set is going to see much use for years to come. And at $9.95, it's cheaper than a D&D Miniatures expansion pack and likely to see much more use than all but your most common figures. I give the set a rating of "5 (Superb)."
