WotC Dungeon Tiles vs. 3rd Party Products

[Olaf the Stout]

I am thinking of getting a couple of sets of the WotC Dungeon Tiles until Treebore reminded me of the 3rd party companies like Skeleton Key Games that also publish tiles in PDF.

What has been your experience with both the WotC tiles and 3rd party tiles? Which company makes the best product in your opinion? Are the PDF tiles too much effort? What is the variety like?

Olaf the Stout

 

[Renshai]

I think they are all good, but printing does cost ink and I find cardstock isn't quite as sturdy as WotC's tiles. That said, they are all fine products.

 

[blargney the second]

I picked up WotC's Dungeon Tiles, and was amazed at the sturdiness of them. The fact that they're pretty easy on the eyes doesn't decrease their utility in the least!
-blarg

 

[Ant]

I grabbed two sets of the WotC Dungeon Tiles and they saw action a few nights later. I found them excellent to use and was very impressed with both the sturdiness of the card and the quality of the printing (though I still can't work out what the dark blue/black colour on the back of a few of the tiles is meant to represent - printing error, maybe?)

I'll definitely pick up a few more sets when WotC release them.

As for other 3rd party tilesets, I've only really used the ones from Skeleton Key Games. I print them out and laminate them at home. They're great but need a little extra effort (and don't have that cool chunky thickness).

Of course, the true answer is you get both.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I used Skeleton Key's tiles for a Serenity game last year and it turned out awesome (if I do say so myself). Combined with Ronin Arts deckplans and a little judicious alterations, I made some huge spaceships. Being able to print my own allowed me to create dupes where needed, and re-use over and over without worrying about wear and tear. I used cheap posterboard and a gluestick to lay things out. The main ship was ~25 sq ft over two 'decks'.

 

[Ghendar]

I find the WotC tiles to be excellent. Nice look and finish and sturdy as hell.

Paizo's tiles are very pretty as well, but much, much thinner. They won't hold up nearly as well as the WotC tiles.

No idea about Skeleton Key's tiles

 

[Imruphel]

I buy practically anything SKG publishes. I'm a total fanboy: I've bought adventures purely because the maps are by Ed Bourelle even if I have no interest otherwise in the product.

Suffice to say that, IMO, their map products are simply fantastic (I also like their Blackdirge products, but that's another topic). It's also worth spending the extra USD10 for the online mapmaker on rpgnow.com that allows you to manipulate the tiles you bought on screen.

I have yet to buy the WotC tiles but I will once I find them here.

 

[Odhanan]

What has been your experience with both the WotC tiles and 3rd party tiles? Which company makes the best product in your opinion? Are the PDF tiles too much effort? What is the variety like?

Skeleton Key Games' eAdventure tiles are extremely varied in environments and not complicated to manipulate. Basically, you print the tiles you want, you cut them from the paper you used (using an Xacto knife and metal ruler is practical) and you're set. The downside is the ink and paper expenditure, but the quality of the graphics is outstanding.

WotC's dungeon tiles are okay graphically speaking, but they are mostly extremely sturdy because of the thick cardboard they are printed on. You don't need to print them yourself. These are the main advantages I think.

Rackham Gaming Tiles are hand drawn - they are better looking for a lot of people. They are mostly useful for urban exteriors and buildings.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

It's also worth spending the extra USD10 for the online mapmaker on rpgnow.com that allows you to manipulate the tiles you bought on screen.

Oooh...I didn't know about that. I've been trying to do it all in my head!

 

[hexgrid]

The strength of the WoTC tiles is that they don't require any prep time- you can lay out whatever room you need on the fly, and they're generic enough to be adaptable to most dungeon maps.

For most of the PDF products, you need to know exactly what room(s) you want to represent, and prepare them before the session begins.

For me, I use both approaches, depending on the circumstances.