Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage Maps and Miscellany

Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros:

• Nice glossy pages featuring the maps from Waterdeep: Dungeons of the Mad Mage. They are glossy like this because they are intended for use with dry erase markers.
• Has a nice folder to keep everything.
• Cards are included.

Could Go Either Way:

• There are no battle maps here. These are the maps that you find in the adventure book. This is nice since you don’t need to flip back and forth, but you won't be putting minis on these. 
• These are meant for the Dungeon Master. Know how I know? The secret doors are listed.Want some for your players? Too bad!

Cons:

• You won’t be giving these to your players short of them getting divine intervention reveal the location. These are meant for the Dungeon Master. Know how I know? The secret doors are listed.
• No PDF*

* Denotes nitpicking.

Cover of the package.

Introduction

We’ve had a new adventure released recently, and along with it we got a maps and miscellany pack. I’m always happy to see this sort of thing, since they give us a way to advance our game if we so wish. Want the tarot cards for Ravenloft? Or all of the maps in the adventure? You can get them! Don’t want them? Easy. You already don’t. However, being offered the choice doesn’t hurt, especially when including it in the core book would further drive costs up. So is this pack worth getting? Let’s jump in.

The Package

You get every map in the adventure in a nice folder. Inside the folder there is a summary of each map found within. As a package, it’s rather nice. The art of the folder mirrors the book itself and the pages feel nice due to their glossy finish. As a result, you could use dry erase markers if you wanted. That’s at least the intention, as the back clearly states this intention.

The kind of maps and folder inside the package. The pages are double sided.

The Maps

These are not battle maps. These are the maps found in the Waterdeep: Dungeons of the Mad Mage adventure. If you’ve seen them and liked them you’ll know what to expect. They are rather simplistic in style, but clear. In general they feel rather nice.

If there is any part of this map that I can fault, it’s the fact that they are meant for the Dungeon Master side of the screen. The maps include the secret doors. This means that unless you give your players divine intervention so they know the location of all the secret doors, they won’t see many of these pages. The ones they will are the cards, and the Skullport maps. I think it’s rather common to let players see the maps for city locations so they know where they are, and where they can travel. The floors of the dungeon will remain on the Dungeon Master side of the screen. This makes the pack convenient, but not mandatory. Instead it’s really a luxury quality of life improvement.

Where such a luxury item excels is if you do things the real old school method of dungeon delving. Make them map the dungeon, while you have your perfect reference copy beside you and know exactly where they are.

Price

I don’t normally comment on the price and instead merely state the suggested price. I do this because prices aren’t fixed. Sales often occur and everyone has their own ideas of what’s worth it when it comes to their money. I’ll largely do the same here, but I do need to point out that the price of two maps & miscellany packs is the same as a core rule book or adventure. I think that many people, if forced to choose between two such packs (for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage) and a full adventure (such as Curse of Strahd) will choose the full adventure. This maps it more of a luxury product for those who enjoy the convenience, and/or for those that already have the other books they are interested in.

Summary

This is a luxury item. If you like having your maps outside your book, like using dry erase marker, and liked the maps from the book, you’ll like this. However, outside the Skullport maps and the card pages, the maps will stay on the Dungeon Master side of the screen. This is because the maps include secret doors, but this isn’t a problem for the town of Skullport. I know plenty of Dungeon Masters who would pass on such a product if their players can’t see the maps, and instead just deal with the inconvenience. This is because they rather buy other books and adventures they don’t already own, and for the price of two such packs they could buy another book. If you can only buy one accessory though? It’s a harder choice. However, if you aren’t worried about buying other books, and like these sorts of luxury additions? You’ll be right at home.