SkeletonKey Games has recently released three new miniature-scale tile products featuring Ed Bourelle's artwork. Two of these are in a new series, Edventure Tiles, which differs from e-Adventure Tiles in that Edventure Tiles are non-modular tile sets (they fit together in just one way) from Ed's own campaigns.
The latest e-Adventure Tiles set is
Caves of Peril. Caves of Peril consists of 28 tiles (if you count the online bonus tile, which doesn't seem to have been uploaded yet) of winding multi-level caverns. The "peril" comes, as far as the terrain is concerned, from having to maneuver around and through the cave columns—if you're on the lower level—or from having to jump from column to column and keep your balance if you're on the upper level. The tiles are creative but will likely have relatively limited application for most games. Compared to the dungeons or wilderness tiles from the same series, these tiles are much less flexible. However, if you have need for what they supply, they do the job excellently.
The Caves of Peril tiles blend very well with, and in a way extend, the recent
Temple of the Spider Queen set. Although the tiles in Temple of the Spider Queen are designed to be laid out according to a certain pattern, they are quite flexible and fully compatible with other offerings in the e-Adventure Tiles line. Temple of the Spider Queen features tiles that would go very well with tiles from Ed's earlier temple, cavern, and dungeon sets, so it's a great extension to your e-Adventure Tiles collection. The set offers fifteen tiles that can be put together to form "the main temple," with many interesting features including idols, a pit, dungeon entrances, egg chambers, and storage rooms. another ten tiles are designed to form "the spider pits," a nasty-looking place where captives or intruders could be fed to the spiders. (The spider pit caverns are in the same style as the Caves of Peril.) Finally, there are six bonus tiles (though the online bonus tile appears not to have been uploaded yet).
Ed has also published two items in the new Edventure Tiles series, featuring locales that spring from his home campaign. The first to be released was
Danger in the Mists. The tiles in the Edventure Tiles series are not modular; they only fit together one way, and thus have much more limited applicability and usefulness than the e-Adventure Tiles products. The advertising is very clear about this, so no one should be surprised or disappointed by it. Danger in the Mists presents a wide, mist-filled gorge with tall outcroppings of rock that might serve as a way to get across—if the PCs can jump 50 feet horizontally from a standing start. The key to getting across (may) lie in the lower level of maps. This is probably the coolest feature of this product: although these are 2D tiles, there is very much a 3D "feel" to the scenario they invoke, since Ed provides maps for both an upper and lower level of the gorge. On the other hand, I do feel a bit disappointed with the product's narrowness. I knew about the non-modularity of the tiles going in, so that's not an issue, but even the
storyline that the tiles presuppose is relatively non-modular. If the PCs don't have magical or superhuman flying or jumping ability, there's pretty much just one path across the gorge. Once across, it's not terribly likely that your PCs will revisit the same location, unless you force them into a return trip. Given that this locale is pretty much a one-shot (or two at most) for a particular group of players or at least of PCs, I felt like this product did not give the same kind of return on investment that e-Adventure tiles do.
The second Edventure Tiles release,
Tavern in the Woods, has several advantages over Danger in the Mists. It has much greater reusability (PCs are visiting taverns all the time), and the tiles blend seamlessly with the e-Adventure wilderness tiles. As with all SKG tile products, the artwork is rich and beautiful. However, all is not completely well at the Tavern in the Woods. I would not really want to be the proprietor of this establishment. For one thing, the tap—I'm assuming that's what the barrels in the "southeast" corner are—is too easily accessible to all and sundry, as is the cash box above the tap. Moreover, the place has no interior storage (even the extra barrels of drink are stored outside, too easily stolen), and any cooking to be done would have to be done over the fires in the hearths, as there is no kitchen. There is also no provision for any sort of cellar or second floor. These limitations probably won't stop me from using the tavern, but hopefully such oversights won't be as evident when SKG releases their long-awaited fantasy urban tiles.
Filed in:
Dungeons & Dragons,
D&D,
d20,
SkeletonKey Games,
e-Adventure Tiles,
Edventure Tiles
