Dwarven Forge LLC, is a company that creates three-dimensional polymer tiles for use with tabletop role-playing games.
History
When Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop fantasy role-playing games became popular in the late 1970s, players found that it was necessary to track their progress through imaginary dungeons by creating paper maps. Some companies such as Task Force Games responded as early as 1980 by creating modular cardboard tiles that could be used by the gamemaster to quickly lay out an entire dungeon floor-plan, but most gaming groups simply drew a map on a piece of graph paper.
In the mid-1990s, Stefan Pokorny, an artist who played Dungeons & Dragons, started to paint the 25 mm miniatures that he used to represent his characters. He was disappointed that his carefully painted miniatures were displayed on maps pencilled onto on graph paper, so he designed and created some hand-painted resin-based three-dimensional tiles. The other players liked the tiles, and since Pokorny was struggling to make ends meet as an artist, he founded Dwarven Forge in 1996 as a side business. Pokorny designed modular tiles that could be used to create a three-dimensional dungeon floor plan, cast and painted the masters, sent them away to be cast in a durable polymer, and then marketed the finished tiles through retail games stores and at conventions. He sold out of his stock in four hours at his first appearance at Gen Con.
Tiles and product development
History During the Master Maze resin era, Pokorny and his creative team started by drawing a sketch of a potential tile. Using the sketch, they create a putty prototype of the tile that is then used to form a rubber mold, which in turn is used to cast a tile master. Dwarven Forge then sends the master to a factory in China, which then manufactures required copies of the tile.
Tiles were originally cast in resin, but that proved to be too brittle, so Dwarven Forge eventually switched to a more durable and proprietary PVC polymer, marketed as "Dwarvenite," which is regarded as being "sturdy enough to stand on while also delicate enough to be hand-painted."
Dwarven Forge has attributed their success to their multidisciplinary team made up of a carpenter-poet, sculptors, and a "recovering architect."
Current and ongoing developments Under Chief Creative Officer Nate Taylor's leadership the team has expanded their design process to move back and forth between early "sketch" shapes in foam and digital sculpting and 3D prints of those forms. Once the geometry of the piece is worked out, for most pieces final sculpting detail is still done by hand with clay.
The pieces use the 1"=5' scale found in D&D, Pathfinder, and other popular role-playing games. Basic pieces include floors, walls, furniture and swinging doors. Many specialty pieces have been created as well, including everything from temple altars to giant mushrooms. Some pieces incorporate LEDs for special effects such as torches. In 2019 with their Dungeon of Doom Kickstarter, Dwarven Forge began incorporating small anchor magnets attached to the bottom of each piece so that they will stay together once placed on a metal tray or against a metal wall.
As of 2023, designers were attempting to make the tiles more modular, like Legos.
Pre-painted pieces make up the majority of the products sold, however the company also offers unpainted scenery, their own branded paint line, and a YouTube channel with tutorials.
Sets and crowdfunding campaigns + Set / Campaign Type Date Shipped To Customers Material Notes Room set resin MM-001 Room & Passage set resin MM-002 Octagonal Room set resin MM-003 Diagonal Walls set resin MM-004 Short Passages set resin MM-005 Wicked Additions set resin MM-006 Ogre's Den set resin MM-007 Curved Walls & Passage set resin MM-008 Deluxe Room set resin MM-009 Short Passages set resin MM-010 Wicked Additions II set resin MM-011 Dungeon Accessories set resin MM-012 Medieval Furniture set resin MM-013 Narrow Passages set resin MM-014 Cavern set resin MM-015 Treasures & Magic Items set resin MM-016 Advanced Builder set 2002 resin MM-017 Traps! set 2002 resin MM-018 Traps 2 set 2002 MM-019 Cavernous Passage set 2003 resin MM-020 Sci-Fi Starter set June 2004 SF-001 Sci-Fi Passage set June 2004 resin SF=002 Fantasy Floor set October 2004 resin MM-021 Fantasy Starter set October 2004 resin MM-022 Sci-Fi Alpha Expansion set October 2004 SF-003 Den of Evil: Room and Passage set 2005 resin MM-023 Sci-Fi Beta Expansion set February 2006 resin SF-004 Cavernous Rivers and Walls set June 2006 resin MM-024; pre-orders opened April Cavernous Lake set August 2006 resin MM-025; pre-orders opened May Medieval Building set August 2006 resin MM-026 Den of Evil: Wicked Additions set December 2006 resin MM-027; pre-orders opened October Medieval Building Expansion set April 2007 resin MM-028; pre-orders opened February Den of Evil: Room set April 2007 resin MM-030; pre-orders opened February Tavern Accessories set October 2007 resin MM-029; pre-orders opened July Cavernous Lake Expansion set October 2007 resin MM-031; pre-orders opened July Cavernous Chasm set February 2008 resin MM-032; pre-orders opened November 2007 Sci-Fi Gamma set July 2008 resin SF-005; pre-orders opened May Realm of the Ancients set February 2009 resin MM-034; pre-orders opened December 2008 Realm of the Ancients II set June 2009 resin MM-035; pre-orders opened April Den of Evil: Hellscape set October 2009 resin MM-036 Ruins set August 2010 resin MM-037; pre-orders opened June Wicked Additions 3 set December 2010 resin MM-038; pre-orders opened October Ice Cavern set December 2011 resin MM-039 Woodland set December 2011 resin MM-040; pre-orders opened September Woodland Accessory set December 2011 resin MM-042; pre-orders opened September Den of Evil: Expansion set April 2012 resin MM-043; pre-orders opened February Realm of the Ancients Treasure set Summer 2012 resin MM-041 Catacombs set January 2013 resin MM-047 Hellscape 2 set March 2013 resin MM-044 Game Tiles (Dungeon Tiles) Kickstarter October–November 2013 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign March–April; $1.90 million pledged from 5,398 backers Caverns Kickstarter October–November 2014 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign March–April; $2.14 million pledged from 3,950 backers; Pokorny paints introduced Catacombs 2 set Summer 2014 resin MM-048 City Builder Kickstarter January–February 2016 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign March–April 2015; $2.36 million pledged from 2,719 backers; Nate Taylor credited as Kickstarter Creative Director Castle Builder Kickstarter May 2017 Dwarvenite, DwarveniteG / Gorgonite (PVC, ABS) campaign March 2016; $1.78 million pledged from 1,688 backers; Nate Taylor credited as Creative Director, working with Stefan Dungeons of Doom Kickstarter June–July 2018 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign June–July 2017; $3.06 million pledged from 2,897 backers; introduction of LED pieces, terrain trays, and anchor magnets, as well as the Burrows biome Caverns Deep! Kickstarter December 2019-February 2020 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign July–August 2018; $3.32 million pledged from 3,106 backers; along with cavern pieces this release included Dreadhollow Forest, The Underdoom, and Crystal Caverns Hellscape Kickstarter July–December 2020 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign June–July 2019; $1.24 million pledged from 1,855 backers; main campaign video (and almost all since) presented by Nate Taylor, Chief Creative Officer; introduction of light panels and the translucent yellow Dwarvenite known to collectors as "cheese" The Fall of Plaguestone set September 2020 Dwarvenite (PVC) pre-orders opened August 2019 Wildlands Kickstarter December 2021-July 2022 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign August–September 2020; $4.06 million pledged from 3,526 backers Reliquaries Kickstarter October–November 2022 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign November 2021; $284,835 pledged by 1,812 backers Cities Untold: Lowtown Kickstarter January–February 2025 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign; $3.51 million pledged by 2,621 backers; introduced biscuit system for connecting pieces such as the new modular roofs Wildlands Reforged Gamefound February–March 2024 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign July–August 2023; $769,143 pledged by 739 backers Starforged Gamefound June–July 2025 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign March–April 2024; $977,956 pledged by 767 backers Dungeons Reforged Gamefound estimated late 2025 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign October–November 2024; $1.762 million pledged by 1,562 backers; introduced the Sinister paint scheme Cities Reforged: Tudor Village Gamefound estimated Spring 2026 Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign July–August 2025; $1.713 million pledged by 1,189 backers Perilous Frontiers expected to be Gamefound expected 2027 expected to be Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign expected Q2 2026; will add sand and snow biomes Cities Reforged: Part II expected to be Gamefound TBD expected to be Dwarvenite (PVC) campaign expected Late 2026; will update and expand Sewers biome
Awards At the ENnie Awards in 2019, Dwarven Forge's Dungeon of Doom Modular Terrain won the 2019 Silver ENnie for "Best Aid/Accessory – Non-Digital".
Reception The live-play D&D show Critical Role has featured Dwarven Forge since some of its earliest use of 3D tabletop terrain for battle maps. Episode 44 of campaign 1, 'The Sunken Tomb', which aired March 10, 2016, featured a substantial build (revealed at 2 hours, 47 minutes into the episode, ) and Dwarven Forge has appeared regularly on their table ever since.
In the November 2009 issue of Wired, Michael Harrison liked the "massive variety of sets and different looks. From caverns to castles to inns, each set has its own accessories to help round out the rooms. Tables and chairs, columns and pits, even plates and tankards and food. It adds a level of detail to your encounters that even the most talented artist would have trouble replicating on a dry-erase board." Harrison also complimented the pieces' durability, saying, "the Dwarven Forge pieces are sturdy and built to last." However, he did admit that the sets were costly and took up a lot of room. "Because of their quality, the terrain is not cheap. Each set runs between $70-$120, and if you're aiming to create entire dungeons, you may need several sets. You'll also want to make sure that you've got plenty of space. A dedicated gaming room is necessary, as you'll need plenty of shelf space to store the Dwarven Forge boxes and a large table to build on." He also noted that Dwarven Forge pieces worked better when set up in advance rather than being constructed as needed. He concluded "Wired: Modular, ultra-detailed, well-made, and a whole lot of fun, Tired: Takes up a lot of space, pricey, hard for on-the-fly dungeon creation. Either way, this one definitely gets the GeekDad stamp of approval."
On his website Sly Flourish, Mike Shea noted the high cost of collecting Dwarven Forge. "A solid set of Dwarven Forge dungeon pieces runs about $300 to $500 on the low end." His recommendation was to "Get big pieces that matter" and "Focus on a few versatile pieces and get a lot of them."
Reviews In 1998, the online second edition of Pyramid reviewed the Mastermaze series produced by Dwarven Forge.
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