Maps getting crappy now that "tiles" are used to make them?

I'd like two changes to their map policies.

First, they need to start making two maps, one to show to the players, and one for the DM. Honestly, the work they do on maps now? Totally wasted 9 times out of 10. Who gets to enjoy it? Not the players, they get to see a three year old's crayon drawing replication of the actual map. The DM can't even show the players his map, because half the time it has secret information on it. Two maps would fix this problem, and wouldn't involve tons of extra work, since the biggest difference would be the omission of the monster's starting locations and the omission of bullet points noting items with secret details. That probably means that the artist's original version would be sufficient in most cases.

There's really no reason for them not to do this, particularly in light of their newfound focus on 'digital' gaming. There is certainly no large technical barrier.

I know they've put some maps up for download, but if they're going digital they should really be taking advantage of the medium. Something I don't think they've really done yet.

People want maps. Hi-res and effective for use as battle-maps whether via printing or a VTT. For me the choice in running an adventure would be highly influenced by my ability to get a useable version of the maps.
 

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It never made sense to me that Wizards would publish adventures that didn't use their own product - the Dungeon Tiles.

Many of us are used to writing out our own dungeon rooms on erasable mats or on sheets of white paper but I think the overall quality and detail of dungeon tiles often outstrips what any of us could spend the time to draw.

I don't think all maps should move to Dungeon Tiles exclusively, but I see no reason why any encounter that has a layout anything like the tiles shouldn't use the tiles themselves.

Dungeons and Dragons simply isn't a complete experience when they don't offer products that fit each part of it. If they're going to focus on a table top tactical strategy for combat, they should also supply the tools to build the layout and the miniatures to play out the battle.

Given that I'd prefer to play fully published modules from paper products rather than downloads from Dungeon - I'd rather see Dungeon move towards the route of a toolbox of dungeons, NPCs, treasure, and other tools I could use for my own game. Part of this would be more delve-like products that use Dungeon tiles for layout.

In short, I'm all for them using dungeon tiles in Dungeon magazine and their own published adventures whenever they can.
 

I own six sets of Dungeon Tiles.

Their quality is great but using them is another story. These days I'm using a Paizo eraseable mat, using tiles only for small specific encounters.

I can never find the tiles I'm looking for during a game session...
 

*whew* I'm glad the original poster was way off base and that Dungeon is NOT using Dungeon Tiles. This past weekend's Game Day map was cut-n-pasted Dungeon Tiles (or at least cut-n-pasted from some previous maps, I don't own any Dungeon Tiles to know if they were from that or not). Quite frankly, it was really, really embarrassingly bad cut-n-pasting, too and actually led to confusion during play. So boo hiss on using Dungeon Tiles unless they can actually make sense together and not look like someone's image editor of choice is MS Paint rather than Photoshop.
 

Not the players, they get to see a three year old's crayon drawing replication of the actual map. Second, when they use dungeon tiles for delve type adventures, they could include printable detail pieces to place onto the tiles.

Ironically, WOTC can't use dungeon tiles as effectively as I can, because its not really sufficient for a published product to drop down a tapered box shape of egyptian tomb pieces, and declare that today, these represent a boat. Adding printable detail items would at least mitigate this a little.

Substitute crayon wiht vis a vis wet erase, and that is my map completely.

I have bought alot of the tiles, and I am trying to figure out how to make them work. I have a little more success with the gamemastery 8"X5" map tiles.

If I have not made my own module, I find the easiest way is just print out 1" grid on card stock (about $5.99 a ream). Then I pretty much cut them out to map form as presented, and mount them (Nothing exotic, elmers glue works) on corragated (sp?) cardboard. I save them when I am done, because I have found the often irregular shapes come in handy for good approximations of dungeon rooms printed in other material.

1. Copy the map from the module on the card stock
2. cut it out
3. reuse it

I am a terrible artist. MY chessex map mat is laughable... but somehow I make them work as well.

Dungeon tiles are useful to me when writing a module and knowing I have them ahead of time. Otherwise, they are not working like they should.
 

As for using tiles

Hi,

Something that I saw at the LFGS that worked very well:

*) Get some pieces of foam core, and cut to usable sizes (say, 1'x1' or 1'x2').

*) For a delve, prepare by finding the needed tiles and attaching them to the foam core. That uses the temporary wall mount sticky stuff (sorry, I don't remember what it is called, but it is putty-like and sells in several ounce portions).

That has a number of benefits:

*) Selection of tiles is done before-hand. I've had the same problem of finding the files for a layout, and it definitely is hard to do in the midst of active GM'ing.

*) The tiles are held down, so no trouble with tiles getting bumped around during play.

*) You can divide the map into revealable sections, and keep the hidden portions off to the side and, well, hidden.

The downside is that you may need more tiles, if you have a large layout that recycles particular tiles.

Thx!

TomB
 


I have a whole bunch of dungeon tiles, but i rarely use them. Sad to say, but utility-wise they're just not that great, they slide around, and the size is very limited. Now, i have used a few for large set piece rooms, but i have never, ever shuffled through the box in the middle of a game and try to "build" a room as we advance. If i'm going to do that i would just as soon use Descent tiles that interlock and a wipeable Chessex map.
 


Similarly, if you're creating digital maps and offering them through a digital subscription service... why wouldn't you create a version of that map at tabletop scale?

File size.


Not that I'm a Dungeon subscriber anymore, but the thought of them using Dungeon Tiles for maps would make me retch. The time they did it in the print mag (some early Ebberon adventure) there was a firestorm of negative feedback, and Paizo promised it would never happen again. I know personally I would feel they were trying to make me spend more money on formerly unneeded products, but perhaps the community zeitgeist has changed on this one.
 

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