Dungeon tiles. yay or nay?

[Klaus]

I have been trying to get the CC 4E set but my FLGS tells me that he can't get them through his distributor... yet. Is there anything I can do to help that process along? (oops, total derail there, sorry!)

Please e-mail Jason Kempton at jasonkempton (at) fierydragon (dot) com with this information. Let him know what your FLGS is, where you're located. And remember that CC4eH1 + BBox 4e = free shipping.

 

[Bishop Odo]

I think, I will stick with my Old school Chessex mats, until I can get an under the table projection unit, think BSG. I would rather trake the time and draw it out, and give the players a little break, then subject them to the same map over and over again just becasue it costs effective. But, a do it yourself Dungeon Forge set is very tempting...

 

[Gargoyle]

Mr. Garr! It's a delight to see you.

Err, and yes - big fan of the tiles here. I don't use them for every encounter, but I do like them. I also really like the dungeon dressing tiles that come in Fiery Dragon's 4e Battlebox. A dry erase battlemap also comes in the box, giving me good options from both worlds.

(waves at Kevin)

It's a delight to be here. I find myself lurking less and posting more now that my oldest son is playing 4e.

(back to the thread)

The one problem I have with Dungeon Tiles is that I'm addicted to buying them as they are reasonably priced, so I have so many that it's tough to find what I want quickly. I started putting them in plastic bags corresponding to shapes and types, and that helps a lot. I just need to start putting them back where they go...

 

[Harlekin]

I started putting them in plastic bags corresponding to shapes and types, and that helps a lot. I just need to start putting them back where they go...

I've been doing that too, but I'm not really happy about that solution.IME, the biggest challenge with these tiles is storing them in a way that you have access to the ones you need without enless hours of searching and flipping tiles. Hm, i wonder if cardsheets would work.

 

[VectorSigma]

I like WotC's Dungeon Tiles well enough, but I like the plethora of free printable tiles scattered around the net much more. Because they're free.

It helps, though, that I don't draw on markable tiles. We have counters and tokens for stuff like that. I also use foldup paper scenery and room accents pretty extensively.

 

[Thanee]

If you need to know what you can do with the tiles, this thread might be helpful.

I use them pretty much all the time in my 4e game. They do not always have the pieces I need, obviously, but then I just use something else for that. No big deal. But they do provide a nice, customizable battlemat.

Bye
Thanee

 

[megamania]

I use anything and everything.

Dungeon Tiles are a favorite. For preplanned dungeons I build them in advance then place the tiles (with map) in 1 gallon zip-lock bags. I often even place the figures needed for that encounter within it also.

Much easier to do in a hurry especially at the hobby shop or con setting.

 

[megamania]

I am so addicted to them also. I have over 25 sets now so I can build nearly anything.

In the beginning I used zip-lock bags and as you said- sorted by size.

Now I am also sub-sorting by-

original "green" dungeon floor

yellow dungeon floor

outdoors

underground

city/sewer

I need more boxes to store the bagged pieces in!

 

[Kiddo]

I've only just started using Dungeon Tiles, having used a drywipe grid mat for a long time. I'm actually quite impressed with the quality (and the quantity) of dungeon tiles. I only bought two packs, but already I have more dungeon scenery than I could ever use. I'm now looking for some wilderness/outdoor packs so I can use more varied environments.

It is probably true that it could slow your game down extensively if you are forced to fish in a box of all of your tiles for specific pieces of an encounter area. I have plastic document wallets for each encounter with the tiles I need to use slotted into them along with a brief drawing of the encounter area, ready for quick deployment. I've also experimented with "Encounter Cards" - a write-up of the Monsters, Loot and more interesting elements of scenery - which, if you have the time to prep, basically means you can have "encounter packs" ready to go on the fly.

It is also very true that the Shackled City Adventure Path has some really awkwardly shaped areas, plus some truly whopping ones, for which dungeon tiles probably wouldn't be appropriate. Then again, for the truly whopping ones I suspect you'll find that you can't get a battle mat big enough.

I quite like the tiles, and I think solutions to them slipping around are easy enough to implement to make them pretty damn useful.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I like the look of Dungeon Tiles, but the actual use of them in play is such a headache as others have pointed out. Not only do they tend to move around unless you secure them, but unless the DM takes the time before the game to organize them, setting them up can take a bit of time.

Personally, I think any good DM would have the maps, tiles, or terrain set up ahead of time whatever system they use. Even on wet or dry-erase battle mats, it can take a fair bit of time to draw it out or it will lack a lot of detail.

Tiles and 1" sheets of grid paper work well because you can draw out all of the rooms ahead of time or set them up on a piece of cardboard.

I use Dwarven Forge and the only problem with that is that once its laid out, you can't move it. This makes for some linear explorations.