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The Stone Bard Inn is the first release in a new "Dungeon Tile" like system produced by 3 Sages Games. Later releases in the "Art of Wor--City Tiles" system will be produced in the same style.

The Inn

The Stone Bard Inn comes as a collection of seven 8"x10.5" tiles; six of them form a 24"x21" ground floor while the seventh is the 8"x10.5" second floor. They're all gridded into the 1" squares typical for Dungeons & Dragons.

The inn has a little of everything that you'll want for an adventure: a massive main room, a quiet back room, an outdoor patio, some private sleeping rooms, and a common sleeping room.

It should be usable as an inn in any sort of large town. Though I couldn't fit it into my current isle adventure, per se, I used it as a diabolic inn in the city of Sigil; other gamemasters will doubtless make good use of it as well.

Something that makes the Art of Wor tiles fairly unique is the amount of detail that's included in the maps. Every table is full of plates, knives, and food items. Antlers hang from the walls. Mugs and vases can be seen on some side tables. If your players clue into the details, you'll probably have some fun improving the use of these items.

The Components

The maps are all computer generated in some sort of CAD program. However, the maps don't actually look that computer generated until you look at some repeated pattern like bedspreads. It's also the computer generation that allows for the inclusion of so many distinct, small items.

Overall, the artwork for The Stone Bard Inn is at least as attractive as most of the similar mapping systems, such as GameMastery's Map Packs or Flip Maps. It also has considerable more detail. Unfortunately some of the details sometimes get lost due to low contrast (though this is an occasional problem, not a constant one).

The other unique aspect of the tile set is how it's constructed. The tiles are printed on a clear plastic film with a foam backing. The result is a little bit flimsy, but I suspect will hold up to wear. More importantly, the tiles can be written on with either dry or wet erase markers.

The only other tile set that I'm aware of that allows this is Paizo's Flip Mat series. Thus, if you like to write on your maps as you play, the Art of Wor tiles should on your short list of possibilities.

Comparison & Conclusion

There are enough map tiles out that in order to assess a newcomer to the field, you have to compare it to what's out there already. Thus, I've put together a comparison of four different tile sets. I'll offer the caveat that I don't actually own any Flip Mats, so I can only base my thoughts there on what I can see from the web.

If you don't care about writing on your maps, then it's hard to argue against Wizard's Dungeon Tiles, which are high-quality, beautiful, and cheap; however in the arena of maps that you can draw on, the Art of Wor tiles are very more in contention with their only competitor, Paizo's Flip Mats.

Style-wise, I find the Art of Wor tiles at least as attractive as the Flip Maps, and also much more detailed; for that reason, I've given the Art of Wor tiles a "4" out of "5" for Style: they look good.

Substance-wise I find the Gamemastery Flip Mats, printed on laminated card stock, a bit more appealing than the Art of Wor foam-backed tiles. However, the Art of Wor tiles have an advantage of their own: since they come in several parts, you don't have to fold them up. Further, the foam backing keeps the tiles from scooting around, despite their being separate. That's in sharp contrast to the Paizo tiles which you do have to fold up; I've heard complaints of the lamination breaking around the folds, and thus letting ink in, though I have no idea how common that is. On sum, I think the Substance of the Art of Wor tiles balances out pretty well with the Gamemastery tiles, and I've thus given it a "3" out of "5" for Substance: average, for the small field of erasable maps.

If you'd looking for a map that you can write on, I'd suggest you choose between these two options mainly based on aesthetics, as that's the most important difference between the sets.