Paul Tevis ([info]ptevis) wrote,
@ 2008-07-21 09:44:00
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dear lazyweb: geek edition
Two questions for the assembled brain trust:

First, for the D&D-inclined: Any recommendations for dungeon-based battle map alternatives? I've looked at some of the dungeon tile-type things out there, and I'm curious which ones are good. Bonus points for usefulness in running the dungeon parts of Keep on the Shadowfell.

Second, I'm scheduled to see The Dark Knight this evening, but I haven't seen Batman Begins (heresy, I know). Is this going to be a problem?

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[info]judd_sonofbert
2008-07-21 05:03 pm UTC (link)
It is not going to be a problem. You'll be fine.

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[info]nvdaydreamer
2008-07-21 05:05 pm UTC (link)
On the second, nah. About the only thing that won't be obvious is that Rachel Dawes (played by Katie Holmes) is Bruce's longtime friend/childhood sweetheart/ex. EVerything else is either self-contained to this film or stock Bat features.

On the first ... well, if you've got a little Do-It-Yourself streak, there's always the Microtactix scenics...

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[info]cmdrhobbes
2008-07-21 05:08 pm UTC (link)
Thankfully, they got rid of Katie Holmes and put in Maggie Gyllenhall as Rachel Dawes.

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[info]nvdaydreamer
2008-07-21 05:18 pm UTC (link)
Ah, thanks for the amendment. (Show's how much attention I've been paying.)

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[info]xorphus
2008-07-21 05:38 pm UTC (link)
And--spoiler! rot13ed--Enpury xabjf Oehpr vf Ongzna.

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[info]xorphus
2008-07-21 05:39 pm UTC (link)
(That's a spoiler for Batman Begins, not Dark Knight, which will be helpful for the latter.)

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[info]freeport_pirate
2008-07-21 05:30 pm UTC (link)
If you can find them, Tact-tiles are awesome. They are plastic squares, about 1 ft x 1 ft, that fit together like jigsaw pieces. They have one inch squares on them and you can draw on them with dry erase pens. What makes them better than battle mats in my opinion is that you can pre-draw sections of the dungeon and only snap them into place when the PCs get there. This means you don't have to stop play to draw out the next bit but the players still get that sense of exploration. Unfortunately, the company that made them wasn't able to keep them in production so they are hard to find at the moment.

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[info]zigguratbuilder
2008-07-21 07:04 pm UTC (link)
I saw Tact-Tiles for the first time the other weekend. They were, hands down, the most awesome implementation of 1-inch square gaming mats that I've seen. Sturdy as hell, perfect, and configurable in interesting ways (you could connect two together, then put one more attached to both, to form a kind of triangle piece, so take the board in new directions).

Unfortunately, the company that made them could apparently not produce them without a loss, so they are no longer available.

On top of that, you can't find them ANYWHERE (eBay, etc). And apparently, once they are available, they are sold at ridiculous prices (orig price was about $60 for a set; apparently once they do appear online they go for 2-3 times that price).

Finally, the company that produced them is no more: Their website is gone, even. ( http://bc-products.net/ )

-Andy

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[info]rob_donoghue
2008-07-21 06:01 pm UTC (link)
First qualifiers. I have heard a lot of great things about tact-tiles, but so far as I can tell they don't really exist any more, so I have no real opinion on them

I use one of Paizo's Blank Flip Mats as my go-to surface because it's easy to clean, it folds up very compactly, and after it's been used for a bit, the creases smooth out and stop being a problem in play. If I have to bring only one thing, it's that. I had originally planned on getting a real battlemap, because I like the weight and the flatness of it, but the fact that the Paizo maps can do dry erase or Vis a Vis (Or even permanent marker in a pinch) and are much easier to carry around ended up tipping the scales. They also have some that have existing maps on one side that look pretty good, but I haven't tried them yet.

If you've got more leeway, nothing is better than the dungeon Tiles that WOTC produces. They are higher quality, better looking and _cheaper_ than any of the alternatives. Their only limitation is that they only have so many different sets, and that they're a bit of a pain to store and transport. Still, I feel the wilderness one and at least one dungeon are totally worth the outlay. I find them inspirational the same way I think good minis can be.

The Gamemastery packs that Paizo puts out (which are the stacks of pre-printed mapsets, not the dry erase ones) are cool for their sheer diversity, but they're just cardstock, so they tend to get knocked out of alignment very easily. I need to invest in some repositionalble tape or something to make better use of them. Despite this, I tend to use them because their content is very good, and colorful.

There are also some PDF sets available online but I find them to be a bit overpriced for what you get, and I have yet to see one that was worth the effort of printing out and putting to use. Hopefully there are some I'm just unaware of, but I haven't found them yet.

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[info]ptevis
2008-07-21 06:14 pm UTC (link)
If you've got more leeway, nothing is better than the dungeon Tiles that WOTC produces. They are higher quality, better looking and _cheaper_ than any of the alternatives. Their only limitation is that they only have so many different sets, and that they're a bit of a pain to store and transport. Still, I feel the wilderness one and at least one dungeon are totally worth the outlay. I find them inspirational the same way I think good minis can be.

Which ones to do you have?

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[info]rob_donoghue
2008-07-21 06:22 pm UTC (link)
Wilderness and Dire Tombs. Wilderness I knew off the top of my head (because it's AWESOME) but I had to look up Dire Tombs because, well, it's a dungeon, and I don't really instinctively know WHICH dungeon it is. They all looked good and I more or less picked that one at random. It's worked fine, but I have no reason to say it's really better or worse than the other dungeons.

I am most irked because they do not yet have an Urban set, but it's due out in the fall, and I've already preordered. I have a deep and abiding weakness for city games, so I have a similar weakness for the maps.

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[info]ptevis
2008-07-21 06:25 pm UTC (link)
Now the hard question: what's the piece mix like in Dire Tombs? I can't seem to find an image or description of it anywhere.

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[info]rob_donoghue
2008-07-21 06:47 pm UTC (link)
Sadly, the answer to that was inside the back cover, which i threw out. :) I'll see if I can give you a good breakdown when I get home.

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[info]ptevis
2008-07-21 06:48 pm UTC (link)
Awesome. You're a mensch.

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[info]doublefeh
2008-07-21 06:53 pm UTC (link)
I've still got the covers to my sets, and I have most of them. I can take some pictures tonight and throw them online.

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[info]ptevis
2008-07-21 06:55 pm UTC (link)
Actually, I just found a breakdown, so you're both off the hook.

Thanks!

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[info]bryant
2008-07-21 10:08 pm UTC (link)
If you still want pictures:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=234507

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[info]doublefeh
2008-07-21 06:17 pm UTC (link)
I'll second the WotC Dungeon Tiles recommendation. That's what I used for the game at PaulCon.

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[info]wyldelf
2008-07-21 06:37 pm UTC (link)
We used the Gamemastery ones yesterday. Although they were cool for on the fly dungeon mapping (including letting the GM adlib based on what was there based on what was on the map section) they were pretty small, limiting some of the tactical options. Although that might just be a symptom of the Sewers set that was being used, my guess is no, since the size of the cards is 5 squares wide (and 8-12 long, I didn't count that direction)

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[info]rob_donoghue
2008-07-21 06:48 pm UTC (link)
The ones I like put 2 or four of them together to describe more open areas. Fred got the caverns set, and there's definitely some claustrophobia going on there.

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[info]dougo
2008-07-21 06:15 pm UTC (link)
Our DM has several Master Maze sets from Dwarven Forge that are pretty awesome. But probably expensive.

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[info]misuba
2008-07-21 08:59 pm UTC (link)
If you're considering dropping any money at all on tiles, you may as well get Dundjinni. It wins the software contest.

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[info]ptevis
2008-07-21 09:01 pm UTC (link)
The issue I have with all electronic solutions is that they require me to print whatever it is I design. I want this stuff on heavier cardstock than I think my printer can handle.

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[info]misuba
2008-07-21 10:55 pm UTC (link)
sticker stock is your friend

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[info]charlesatan
2008-07-21 10:14 pm UTC (link)
Hi Paul. For me the Dungeon Tiles work great although you might have trouble finding some of the older Dungeon Tiles. You can look at the contents of the various set at this thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=234507

Go have fun with Batman, shouldn't be a real problem.

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[info]jessecoombs
2008-07-22 04:22 am UTC (link)
Batman won't be a problem, aside from the fact that if you ever get around to seeing the first one, you may be disappointed in it, compared to the sequel which is better. Not that you shouldn't see it, as Batman Begins is a very good movie.

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