I thought it was about time I put all the various items I’ve been working on alongside the Dungeon Tiles and saw how it all fits together - sort of a dry run, rather than an actual game, to give an idea what all the fuss has been about !
I laid out all the tiles from the TT Combat set, here covering a footprint of around three feet by three, and added random items of scenics from the collection, to encompass a Wizard’s Chamber and the Lair of the Liche King, with various connecting corridors.
It soon became apparent that you can never have enough base tiles ! - the set is a generous one, but I realised that I have created and built enough scenics and terrain to cover multiple sets….. I consoled myself by deciding that it gave me the option to set up various themed dungeons, with differing pieces, rather than trying to throw them all into one !
I also felt that in actual gaming terms, it might be more practical to only lay down small areas at a time, where the adventurers are actually located as they move through, rather than having it all laid out at once - giving the opportunity to re-use tiles that are effectively behind the party, unlikely to be re-visited.
I also intend to lay the tiles onto a black base cloth, hopefully giving more of a sense of the filled space between corridors, but for clarity in the photos just put them down onto the bare tabletop.
So, without further ado, let’s join the Adventure Party as they enter the unknown - having descended a mossed covered stone stair, they halt at a gloomy-looking carved stone entrance:
Luckily Vilek the Thief has brought a flaming torch to light their way - what might lay beyond ?
The Warrior Woman Mela and Borrin the Dwarf push ahead, their suspicions aroused by a strange skittering sound, as if something was stealthily approaching across the floor of the stone corridor - oh the Horror !
Arachnid foes duly despatched, the Heroes spread out, not knowing what might await them - but sure that it will unlikely be friendly nor without peril…..
Gandagor the Ginger and Herk the Fighter find themselves beset by oozing slimes, and then imperilled by a brutish Ogre:
The Ranger Leofric, meanwhile, has stumbled upon the creeping-crawling guardians of the Plague icon…. Luckily he has his trusty bow, helping him avoid the poison they emit:
Vilek has thought better of getting involved in all this combat, and sneaks off to find something more interesting - beyond an eldritch archway, a strange glowing portal beckons…..
The Party has so far been holding their own, vanquishing various foes and overcoming numerous challenges, yet they are naive if they think their efforts have gone un-noticed, or that an evil will has not been watching their every move…..
Herk and Mela reunite to confront the powerful Wizard, lured to his mysterious chamber by the piles of treasure and plunder that are displayed therein, but things are looking dicey…..
Their material weapons, though tried, tested and true, are no match for his dark deviltry….. luckily, reinforcements arrive in the knick of time - the showdown begins !
Pretty pleased, then, with how everything goes together so far - the scratch-built items enhanced by various commercial and 3-D printed pieces, and the character minis looking good on their circular bases - given how much I have on hand, should be easy to give them plenty of different challenges.
One point to note is my latest purchase - some great solid-looking doors from Combat Zone Scenery - TT Combat have MDF kit doors to go alongside the Tile sets, but these are scaled for 28mm minis and looked a little overscale to my eyes, as well as being a bit flimsy, so I was very pleased to find these from the ChibiQuest Range:
https://combatzone-scenery.co.uk/Chibi/Chibi-Arenas
The Chibi ranges are obviously for a specific game ethos, not actually designed for small scale minis as such, but I love the detail, character and heft in these items:
They definitely look the part next to 15mm figures:
All of the Combat Zone output is of high quality and well made, with plenty of small scale interest to be found amidst their varied ranges - well worth a browse !
To conclude then, a look at the set that started it all, giving a view of the amount and shape of the various pieces that go to make it up - they might be ‘flat’ and relatively simple when compared with much of the commercial and diy 3 or 2D product out there, but certainly provided me with plenty of inspiration !