Are Dwarven Forge Tiles Worth It?

I’ve been running Dungeons and Dragons games for a few years now. One of my favorite parts about D&D is the combat. I had great looking hand-painted miniatures to represent the characters, but I was using them on an ugly dry erase mat.

The next step for me was to find a way to add good looking 3D terrain. I was sitting on the fence about Dwarven Forge for a long time before I finally decided to pull the trigger.

I went ahead and purchased myself the Dwarven Forge Dungeon Starter Set to see if I would like it.

When they came in I was impressed with their level of quality. The paint job on the tiles was well done, it complimented my minis. The simple design on the tiles made the characters stand out. Because there were 1-inch squares already sculpted into the tiles, building the perfect encounter was quick and easy. Within minutes I had created the “Boss Room” where an encounter would take place next session.

I wish you were there to see the surprised look on my player’s faces when I pulled out the tiles for the first time and told them to, “Roll for initiative.” This lead to one of the most memorable sessions I have ever had. That was when I knew I needed to buy more.

With Dwarven Forge I was able to build interesting and engaging encounters that challenged my players. Suddenly I noticed they were using the environment a lot more. Bringing up tactics during the fight like the line of sight they had, elevation, and the interactable objects in the environment. This of course led to some pretty ridiculous moments… Like when they knocked down a two-story building in such a way that it fell on the Big Bad Evil Guy. Yes, that actually happened, the photo below was taken during that session.

I was worried that having more things on the table would limit the creativity of my players. Obviously the exact opposite happened. Every session instead became more fun and more memorable. This inspired me to continue to find different ways to use the Dwarven Forge tiles. Because of their simple design, I didn’t have to limit myself to just making dungeons.

I typically used to use just a Textured Dry Erase Battle Mat and some Mini Trees for my forest encounters. However, since the addition of Dwarven Forge, I’ve been able to add more scenery to those encounters. The dungeon tiles fit perfectly into the 1-inch squares on the dry erase mat. Because of this, I am able to make sidewalks, buildings, bridges, and whatever else I can think of that helps enhance the scene. 

Below is a photo where I used them as a sidewalk for a graveyard, as well as an arch entrance. Also, if you look closely, most of the “ruined fence” around the graveyard is also Dwarven Forge. They are Ledge Tiles that have been flipped on their side.

The amount of different things you can create with a set of Dwarven Forge Dungeon Tiles is endless. Sometimes I find myself creating a layout with them just for fun. Then I realize that layout would make an excellent combat encounter. So I come up with a combat encounter to sneak into my next session so that I can use that layout.

Another tabletop game I have gotten into recently is Warhammer. Witch is a game that requires you to build combat terrain. So now, my Dwarven Forge pieces are being used for DnD and Warhammer. I’m sure that there are plenty of other tabletop games that will take advantage of these tiles that I haven’t discovered yet.

I am so glad I purchased these Dwarven Forge tiles. I use them every single session, and my friends borrow them often for their sessions too!

Yes, Dwarven Forge is expensive. But you don’t need to buy everything at once. If you are ready to make the leap, I recommend picking up two Dungeon Starter Sets. This will give you plenty of pieces to create many different encounters without breaking the bank.

Another alternative to help you save money is looking for Dwarven Forge tiles on eBay. While it is rare to find some on there, you never know what can get posted unless you check often.

I hope this has been helpful!

I also made a video talking about how I tried using every Dwarven Forge alternative before finally giving in. Dwarven Forge is just truly the best thing on the market right now when it comes to modular 3D terrain.