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Grizzly Encounter Tiles: Wilderness Edition

Anyone who has been following me on G+, especially the ICRPG Community page, know I've been working on a particular project lately.  For those who are not in the know, I am in the process of creating stylistic map and encounter tiles for use with ICRPG, D&D, and really any type of game you may play.  Samples of my initial artwork can be found for free on the ICRPG Resources page, but I wanted to dive deeper into the nature of the project, what it is, when it's coming, why you want it and what it can do at your table.

In short, this is the first edition in a series of 2D terrain boards for online and offline play.  This particular edition will be entirely wilderness and forestland themed.  Each tile is scaled to be a "standard" encounter space with terrain and features.  Distances (in ICRPG parlance) are approximately NEAR in width and FAR in length, giving GMs and Players alike clear understanding of movement in play.  I have future plans to do similar packs in cities, dungeons, mountains, Sci-Fi and much more (including a possible colored version!).

Online Game Mastering

Have you ever tried making maps out of the terrain assets on Roll20 and end up wanting to break your keyboard in half?  Or using a pre-rendered map from another system that is hyper realistic, but feels off somehow?  Then fret no more, adventurer!  With Grizzly Encounter Tiles (GET), building complete maps on the fly will be as simple as drag, drop and size!  Check out this sample map built in Roll20 with GET and ICRPG Volume Cards in less than 10 minutes:



For users of ICRPG, you'll note the near seamless integration with the Volume Cards and the potential for mechanical gameplay from simple map building.  Also note, this map was built using a mere four different GET images.  The rest are ICRPG assets by Runehammer Games.  

Why You Need to GET This

There are several reasons I can think of wanting this for online play.  Here are 1d4 reasons:
  1. First off, it will be inexpensive when complete.  I plan on initially retailing this starting at around $4.99 on release of the full product first on Patreon then at DriveThruRPG.com with a smaller free version for folks to "test the waters."
  2. It will be extensive.  Basic Tile packs will consist of 10 similarly themed tiles.  Volumes will consist of 5 or more related Basic Tile packs.
  3. It will be easy to use.  Creating a full map in Photoshop, Roll20, XSplit or any other online service you may wish to use will be as simple as uploading and sizing the image to your needs.
  4. It will be versatile.  The pack comes as a digital file.  Purchase once and use in whatever service you want.  It can also be used with far more than ICRPG and can bring a fresh look to your game.
And of course, supporting this project when it comes out will help ensure that more will follow.

Table-top Play

Ours is a hobby which breeds creativity and from that, usually a desire to become a "Craft DM."  I myself tend to dabble here and there with 3D terrain construction when time and funds permit.  However, even when the stars align to craft, I find myself constrained by storage space.  Fear not, brave adventurer!  With GET, these concerns are a thing of the past!

These tiles are just as useful at your real table as they are in online play.  I'll be creating another post soon about crafting a forest adventure using these tiles, but for now I'll show you what they can look like on your table alone and with 3D terrain:

















Why You Need to GET This

Here are 1d4 reasons to grab these babies for your table:
  1. Cost benefit.  For the price, you will not be able to craft this much forest and wilderness terrain.  The only additional cost outside of the initial purchase of the files are the printing costs.  
  2. Storage.  These print on standard sheets of paper for game-board style play.  Even if you laminate them, they can literally be stored in a folder until needed.  I don't know about you, but I can't do that with my foam game boards.  Print what you need, store the rest on a hard drive.
  3. Utility.  Each tile is unique, an encounter unto itself.  At full scale, it is ~40 ft (a NEAR move) in width and ~55 ft (FAR move) in length, allowing for tight gameplay within the space but also allowing for rapid movement between Tiles.  In addition, as each tile is basically set up as a game board already, setting up a game table has never been faster!
  4. Portability.  You can't deny, the ability to bring your entire game map to a friend's house or game shop in a folder is pretty tantalizing.  Laminate them, flip them over and with a marker you can make your own or adjust the map there on the fly.

So Where is It?

Now you might be asking, "that's all well and good, Grizzly, but where is it??"  Well... it's a work in progress.  And a slow one as I have costs of my own to deal with as I work on it.  I have plans to remedy this and will make announcements at the appropriate times.  I also had several technical issues to deal with in terms of hardware and software which appear to be fixed for the moment.

I hope to have this finished sometime in October, possibly sooner should my plan succeed.  It will then be available on my eventual Patreon page (more on that later) and in time DriveThruRPG. 
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Comments

  1. charlos johnApril 29, 2019 at 5:40 AM

    This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing blog that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. tiling wimbledon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GrizzlyMay 4, 2019 at 5:30 PM

      Thank you, Charlos! I have updated the style since this post. You should be able to find them, or something similar, in my ADVENTURE sets on drivethrurpg.com. There are a few other things there now as well. Cheers!

      Delete

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