TrueTiles is one of my favorite systems as it first of all got low walls that allows for oversized miniatures or miniatures that is in positions that is going outside their 1×1” border, but also because it got 1.25” squares instead of the regular 1”. This allows for walls to be added and you will still keep 1×1” squares as a minimum.
The idea behind TrueTiles is that you use these small clips to “tether” them to each other.
All traps and doors are utilising the same clips and that allows you to dynamically add POI’s to your dungeon as you go.
Do your party discover a secret door? Just click it on and continue the path from the other side of the wall.
We have even stopped using the clips as it simply took too long to setup large rooms, but you don’t really need them anyways.
Now they have started supporting OpenLock which makes them compatible for a whole new range of products. It changes the formfactor of the tiles a bit, but interlocks with a whole range of OpenLock systems.
I have talked with Ryan behind TrueTiles and asked him a few questions.
Here is what came out of that interview.
First of all, tell me a bit about yourself:
My name is Ryan Beasecker and I live Michigan (USA). I rolled my first D20 in 1984 and I have been playing RPGs, Wargames, and board games ever since.
How did you join the RPG modeling community:
I began making models for my own games, trying to fill in the blanks and rounding out my own collection of gaming bit and pieces. Making these models available to other gamers was just the next logical step.
Why did you start modeling terrain:
I mainly started modeling terrain and accessories because there were tons of things I wanted for my own game that just didn’t exist from any company. Designing my own models allowed me to create the pieces exactly how I wanted them.
How long does it take to model from start to finish:
The length of time it takes to design a model completely depends on the model. A small model primitive might be able to be designed in an hour or two, but adding the detail could take several more hours. I have done several model sets that I have well over a hundred hours in design work.
Ease of print.
One thing that i personally love about this system is that it’s ridiculously easy to print and also, with relatively few components, you easily have enough for doing your dungeon crawls.
I noticed that i was able to do them hollow and at 200 microns, and that cut my print time on a no-walls, 2×2 tile down to 45 minutes.
I then have to add ~15 minutes of print time per wall it needs, upping the max timer on a “dead-end” (you use these for making an end to a hallway to clip doors onto the end), to 1hr 30 minutes.
Easy of paint
TrueTiles doesn’t come with a whole lot of details, and i don’t say that negatively as it makes the whole process of painting them very approachable even if you suck at painting. I invited a couple of friends over to paint the lot and it took maybe a couple of hours, doing both priming, grounding, dry brushing and highlighting for all my tiles. Those hours are including waiting for layers to dry between the paint.
Lets look at the pro’s and cons:
Pros:
- Easy and fast to 3D print
- Easy to paint
- Base pack consists of relatively few pieces, so you are up and running fast.
- Click system is easy to understand for players so they can help you.
- Fast setup
- Price
Con’s
- Not able to do 5ft wide dungeons. 10ft dungeons is the bare minimum.
- Dungeon feels empty if you do not have the traps from the kickstarter or combine it with other in-dungeon systems like barrels, tables and so on. (but which system doesn’t?)
Conclusion
If you can live without the 1 square wide dungeon, this is a perfect dungeon to throw yourself after. It’s cheap for both the base set but also the expansions. You can really do with just the base set, but if you can get your hands on the 4×4 tiles, it really speeds up the dungeon building when you are playing.
You can find Ryans 3D models here: https://www.heroshoard.com/
