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Author Topic: Anyone ever used dungeon in a box  (Read 1439 times)

Offline beefcake

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Anyone ever used dungeon in a box
« on: November 08, 2019, 09:34:08 AM »
As the title suggests. Has anyone ever used it?
https://dungeoninabox.com/
« Last Edit: November 08, 2019, 09:56:03 AM by beefcake »


Offline Hobgoblin

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Re: Anyone ever used dungeon in a box
« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2019, 11:15:49 PM »
Had never heard of it.

It does prompt a question, though, about that sort of terrain tile - and similar things, like the Paizo mats with printed dungeons on them: how do people actually use them?

I mean, it's easy to use conventional dungeon tiles (from the old Citadel ones to the current official D&D ones to any number of equivalents): you just lay down the room or corridor or whatever as the party enter it.

But how do people use maps like those on the page you linked to, with four or more connected rooms and their contents displayed on a single tile? Do they cut up bits of paper to cover them? Otherwise, as soon as the tile is placed, all the players know exactly what's round the corner or through the door (foes aside).
« Last Edit: November 12, 2019, 09:22:20 AM by Hobgoblin »

Offline beefcake

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Re: Anyone ever used dungeon in a box
« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2019, 08:06:16 AM »
I looked at it in more detail afterward and was less than impressed. 

Offline Hobgoblin

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Re: Anyone ever used dungeon in a box
« Reply #3 on: November 12, 2019, 03:49:56 PM »
It's an odd thing, but it's not just this company.

I wonder how many similar gods-eye-view mats and tiles actually get used. They make sense in something like Descent, where there's no actual exploration and everyone knows what's behind each door, but for an RPG? It's something that really puzzles me.

Offline Malebolgia

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Re: Anyone ever used dungeon in a box
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2019, 08:28:20 AM »
Yeah, I played Pathfinder once on such a big map and that really felt lame. You knew the scope and what was ahead right from the start. Covering up can be done, but you still get a sense of the size of the total map and different rooms. So you'd know enough where to go and how to proceed. For me that detracted from the experience of exploring and dungeon crawling. It'll probably be better to take some scissors and cut up the map into individual rooms and hallways. But then it's probably easier to buy some good tiles that provide with that experience ;) (here's me hoping I still receive my 'Saga' Kickstarter pledge one day...)
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Offline Hobgoblin

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Re: Anyone ever used dungeon in a box
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2019, 11:23:36 PM »
Good to know that I'm not missing something on this! Is it peculiar to something about Pathfinder, do you think, or is it just poor design?

Offline MartinD

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Re: Anyone ever used dungeon in a box
« Reply #6 on: November 17, 2019, 11:08:03 AM »
I was thinking along these lines - more on how to have, say, an underground tomb in a Pulp game.

Past couple of days I've been considering getting a few of those wooden hinged boxes you see in The Works (the ones you decorate yourself). Then having inside each one a different 'significant room/cave/chamber' that can be revealed by simply putting the box on the table and opening the lid.

Mabe have a generic corridor one as well.

Offline Elbows

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Re: Anyone ever used dungeon in a box
« Reply #7 on: November 23, 2019, 07:38:30 PM »
If that's the idea, I'd skip the hinged lids and go for normal removable lids, just for table-space issues (having the lid laying open may interfere with other ones.  But the idea of "rooms in a box" is pretty cool.
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Offline beefcake

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Re: Anyone ever used dungeon in a box
« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2019, 10:14:32 PM »
unless you do something with the lid and have it as another dungeon section. Although you could do that with the removable lid as well.  :?