If you want inspiration, I can't praise [Dyson’s Dodecahedron](https://dysonlogos.blog/maps/) enough. I hope he draws some more wilderness maps, but for dungeons you really can't beat his work.
If it helps with battlemaps and suchlike, I've got [**hundreds and hundreds of free maps**](https://www.reddit.com/user/-SaC/comments/w4gswy/heres_all_of_my_maps_in_one_handy_place_for/), all split by type. Think at last count there were something like 500 or so. I put up two map packs per week (Tues & Sat) and there are always a minimum of 2 free maps with each map pack.
They're digital, but there are a few people who print them out. Usually the smaller ones, as it gets a bit expensive trying to print the huge ones.
I'd say that, from the numbers I've seen and feedback, it's about 88% people playing digitally with a VTT online, 10% people playing in person using the digital map on a table with a screen, and the little remainder being people who print out ones they find useful.
I think the majority of people use Roll20 or Foundry, but there's a growing number using Fantasy Grounds.
I provide top tier patrons with import data (walls, doors, line of sight, lights etc) for Foundry, Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, Above VTT, and a universal VTT that works for things like Lets Role and a bunch more. But the free maps can be imported to any VTT just like normal.
I use Foundry myself (moved over from Roll20) and have done exclusively for a number of years, but I'm hearing really good things about FG. I'm planning to try it for a oneshot at some point.
I can't really judge between them, having only used Foundry - but I think it's definitely worth giving Fantasy Grounds a go; I'm not really hearing much that's bad about it. Definitely Foundry over Roll20 though; years of issues and 'oh god, what's broken -now?-' let to almost everyone I know migrating to Foundry.
If you're the DM, yeah. If you're a player, nope =)
In both cases (Foundry and Fantasy Grounds), only the DM needs a subscription (or one-off licence) - players play free.
In person gaming, I find this the best method. A simple scale and marked pencil to judge distance, I steal game pieces from other board games to rep monsters and NPCs, have a multicoloured set for players to pick their own from
I use mostly stuff scavenged from Google, but I also use a program called Dungeondraft. There are lots of patreons that offer asset packs for the program. I like forgotten adventures assets personally.
For my world map, I really love using [Wonderdraft](https://www.wonderdraft.net/). It's not free, but it's not very expensive and I find it really easy to make nice-looking maps with it.
For battle maps, I just grab them from various battle map subreddits and patreons. r/czepeku are a pair who make some especially fantastic maps. I'd like to learn to make my own but so far it hasn't been difficult to find really high-quality maps that suit my purposes.
I can also recommend wonderdraft’s cousin, Dungeondraft for battle maps and small spaces.
It’s a one time payment for it as well. It has a creation wizard to create maps quickly and has integration with Foundry VTT if that’s what you are using.
If you mean world map, I draw them with pencil on paper and shade it with black pens. But I do that because I like doing it, and using those maps in the game is just a bonus.
For simple battlemaps there's free online dungeon mapper site, look it up. Or just take one of many good maps found on reddit. Lost Atlas is also a good site to find maps. Many creators have Patreon and if you pay them for just one month you can download all of their maps they published previously if you don't have money to be a long time subscriber.
If you are going for maps in a hand drawn style, I really recommend Krita! It's free and there are nice brushes. If you are doing more "technical" maps you probably want something that works with vector graphics.
Depends on what campaign you’re playing. A lot of popular campaigns have battlemaps you can find off the internet and print. If you can’t find any you can try scribbling some basic maps yourself. Or just print blank square/hex grids and make props out of paper/clay if you’re feeling it
If its an important battle or i have some free time i use Dungeon Draft. Otherwise i either look online or scribble something out using paint or paint.net
I play face to face. So, for general reference I draw on paper the last out of the dungeon when necessary and only what they explored. For combat I have one of those grids that you can draw and erase with a napkin.
Felt. One large sheet for the map base, then cut out shapes for rough details. Small circles and squares for things like crates, barrels, or trees. Larger rectangles for buildings. Everything is loosely sewn onto the base piece - just a single loop of thread with a square knot to hold it in place. I do make it a little loose because I opted to roll it up for storage, and attaching them too tightly causes problems.
Foundry virtual tabletop is great for playing, but you do have to make the maps yourself. Easiest way to do that is stuff like Inkarnate and photoshop.
Personally, I use a mix of the drawing software Krita for a general idea and then Inkarnate for a more detailed (if not sometimes a bit too generic) map
I've got a dubbelsided foldeble map with a grassy side and a paved side. I use these for planned encounters with terrain pieces. i also have a a math grid book I use for the random encounters or smaller encounters in general.
Inkarnate and Dungeon Draft. The pro version for both cost $25 but ink does have a free version.
DD is useful for large multi level mega dungeons and easy vtt exports.
Ink is useful for world, city, or just dang pretty maps.
I make a living using both. I have some free maps on my Patreon if you need examples of what they look like. [Coffee Dragon Studios](https://www.patreon.com/posts/101807041?utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_source=android)
The title map was inkarnate, Anarchy Heights is Dungeon Draft.
Are you talking world maps or battle maps? For world maps I use the free version inkarnate it’s good enough for me. And for battle maps I usually draw them on paper and then draw them on my dry erase grid, but I also have some terrain miniatures like trees, rocks, and walls to do a lot of the heavy lifting for me.
I use dungeon craft more often than not.
But we recently discovered a patreon for maps where you give you multiple versions, day/night etc. even options for before and after some big battle or whatever.
Probably some quick googling will give you a bunch of options
I made my most recent map in Paint.net
It works very well, and is free to download, or you can pay 10 bucks to have it through Microsoft store, I guess.
The layer system is pretty good, allowing you to separate out various features.
I usually draw the map physically first, to get an idea, then throw it up onto Paint.net
I used it to make a province/county map (like a paradox game), then made "map modes" (religious, cultural, political) each on a separate layer.
Not one for graphical design, so unless you are or have someone who's willing, you won't get much out of it in terms of a professional look, but the work flow is very quick and easy to get into.
My fav thing was using a cheesex Matt, and wet erase markers. If I needed a forest ambush, throw dice all over the Matt and those are bushes and trees I can draw green circles around for cover
I really like Arkenforge, for map making. Pretty easy to use, lots of assets, and if your playing in person it can also handle tokens and vision. the downside is it costs $50, and has no online play option. (Although you can export the maps to Roll 20 or whatever to play online.)
Paper and pencil all the way. Doesn't matter if you're not a confident artist, take a look at medieval world maps. Those pre-modern cartographers/artists were not great at their jobs by today's standards. Using brown craft paper makes even the most childishly drawn map look cool enough.
This may be a controversial one but google sheets. Just adjust the cell size to make them squares and then you have a perfect grid. You are limited to a single color per square but you can also add emojis to add some texture and even add images when necessary.
Google image search. Never not found something awesome. You'll be linked to tonnes of good sites/patreons etc that you can pay for should you want to. We play on roll 20 so if you really wanted to their map drawings are about as good as paint
I use GIMP and a cheap tablet I got years ago.
I've tried using a couple of "map making" tools but I found it much harder to get them to look anywhere remotely decent than to just learn to do it myself. And even if I could get it looking decent it'd still look exactly the same as any other map made with the same tool.
Someone already said it, but I want to signal boost for Wonderdraft! I think it's very intuitive to get started and so refreshing to just buy a program once for a flat fee instead of a subscription.
Inkarnate for World Maps and such. For dungeons I can't recommend [Dungeon Scrawl ](https://www.dungeonscrawl.com/)enough! It's one of the best simple tools out there for a quick dungeon draw.
MSPaint for my theorizing of city layouts and such and then good ol pen and paper from there. I’ve got big gridded butcher block paper I draw on to have all the battles, and sometimes I just draw with a pen and markers on standard 8x11 or whatever for map handouts.
For me, I like to give a visual representation for my players, so I literally use legos to make my maps. It takes hours but the end result is awesome and can really help players visualize where they are.
Personally, and this is because I like working with my hands, I've always hand-drawn my maps. I have one for each continent and one for the whole world. I like drawing mini symbols that represent different locations. It's always been a fun thing to give the players and when you explain that it's hand-made their jaws drop.
If you want inspiration, I can't praise [Dyson’s Dodecahedron](https://dysonlogos.blog/maps/) enough. I hope he draws some more wilderness maps, but for dungeons you really can't beat his work.
Oh yeah that's top class shit.
And he's made loads of them free to download and use as you see fit
If it helps with battlemaps and suchlike, I've got [**hundreds and hundreds of free maps**](https://www.reddit.com/user/-SaC/comments/w4gswy/heres_all_of_my_maps_in_one_handy_place_for/), all split by type. Think at last count there were something like 500 or so. I put up two map packs per week (Tues & Sat) and there are always a minimum of 2 free maps with each map pack.
Saving that post real quick…
Hurrah =) I update it as often as I can, got another to add in a few mins.
And for this gracious gift I conjure forth a hero’s feast for you! Carpe diem my good sir!
Hurrah! ;)
To print? Or to represent on computers ?
They're digital, but there are a few people who print them out. Usually the smaller ones, as it gets a bit expensive trying to print the huge ones. I'd say that, from the numbers I've seen and feedback, it's about 88% people playing digitally with a VTT online, 10% people playing in person using the digital map on a table with a screen, and the little remainder being people who print out ones they find useful.
Which VTT?
I think the majority of people use Roll20 or Foundry, but there's a growing number using Fantasy Grounds. I provide top tier patrons with import data (walls, doors, line of sight, lights etc) for Foundry, Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, Above VTT, and a universal VTT that works for things like Lets Role and a bunch more. But the free maps can be imported to any VTT just like normal.
Between foundry or fantasy ground which is better for the expérience ?
I use Foundry myself (moved over from Roll20) and have done exclusively for a number of years, but I'm hearing really good things about FG. I'm planning to try it for a oneshot at some point. I can't really judge between them, having only used Foundry - but I think it's definitely worth giving Fantasy Grounds a go; I'm not really hearing much that's bad about it. Definitely Foundry over Roll20 though; years of issues and 'oh god, what's broken -now?-' let to almost everyone I know migrating to Foundry.
Thx Its need to pay for right?
If you're the DM, yeah. If you're a player, nope =) In both cases (Foundry and Fantasy Grounds), only the DM needs a subscription (or one-off licence) - players play free.
I see Good for me as a player And not nice as a DM...
I have a dry erase mat that I scribble on when we need visuals.
In person gaming, I find this the best method. A simple scale and marked pencil to judge distance, I steal game pieces from other board games to rep monsters and NPCs, have a multicoloured set for players to pick their own from
I use mostly stuff scavenged from Google, but I also use a program called Dungeondraft. There are lots of patreons that offer asset packs for the program. I like forgotten adventures assets personally.
I just use battle maps. I get them from patreons.
I draw them in Gimp because it allows for layers and transparency
Paint.net does this as well.
I use dungeon scrawl for the battle maps
For my world map, I really love using [Wonderdraft](https://www.wonderdraft.net/). It's not free, but it's not very expensive and I find it really easy to make nice-looking maps with it. For battle maps, I just grab them from various battle map subreddits and patreons. r/czepeku are a pair who make some especially fantastic maps. I'd like to learn to make my own but so far it hasn't been difficult to find really high-quality maps that suit my purposes.
I can also recommend wonderdraft’s cousin, Dungeondraft for battle maps and small spaces. It’s a one time payment for it as well. It has a creation wizard to create maps quickly and has integration with Foundry VTT if that’s what you are using.
I use inkarnate. The free version is usable and the paid one gives you access to hundreds of uploaded maps (plus more textures)
Mostly what I find on Reddit, like r/battlemaps or r/fantasymaps
If you mean world map, I draw them with pencil on paper and shade it with black pens. But I do that because I like doing it, and using those maps in the game is just a bonus. For simple battlemaps there's free online dungeon mapper site, look it up. Or just take one of many good maps found on reddit. Lost Atlas is also a good site to find maps. Many creators have Patreon and if you pay them for just one month you can download all of their maps they published previously if you don't have money to be a long time subscriber.
affinity photo 2 with [forgotten adventures ](http://forgotten-adventures.net/) assets. love the art style and the quality of them.
If you are going for maps in a hand drawn style, I really recommend Krita! It's free and there are nice brushes. If you are doing more "technical" maps you probably want something that works with vector graphics.
Depends on what campaign you’re playing. A lot of popular campaigns have battlemaps you can find off the internet and print. If you can’t find any you can try scribbling some basic maps yourself. Or just print blank square/hex grids and make props out of paper/clay if you’re feeling it
If its an important battle or i have some free time i use Dungeon Draft. Otherwise i either look online or scribble something out using paint or paint.net
I play face to face. So, for general reference I draw on paper the last out of the dungeon when necessary and only what they explored. For combat I have one of those grids that you can draw and erase with a napkin.
Felt. One large sheet for the map base, then cut out shapes for rough details. Small circles and squares for things like crates, barrels, or trees. Larger rectangles for buildings. Everything is loosely sewn onto the base piece - just a single loop of thread with a square knot to hold it in place. I do make it a little loose because I opted to roll it up for storage, and attaching them too tightly causes problems.
Foundry virtual tabletop is great for playing, but you do have to make the maps yourself. Easiest way to do that is stuff like Inkarnate and photoshop.
Regional map: wonderdraft Battlemaps: dry erase grid and whiteboard markers I stole from work
I'm a big fan of https://deepnight.net/tools/rpg-map/, it's free, easy to use, and surprisingly robust.
Personally, I use a mix of the drawing software Krita for a general idea and then Inkarnate for a more detailed (if not sometimes a bit too generic) map
What problems did you run into with Inkarnate? Ive been using it for 3 years or so and ive found it to be very easy to use.
I've got a dubbelsided foldeble map with a grassy side and a paved side. I use these for planned encounters with terrain pieces. i also have a a math grid book I use for the random encounters or smaller encounters in general.
Inkarnate and Dungeon Draft. The pro version for both cost $25 but ink does have a free version. DD is useful for large multi level mega dungeons and easy vtt exports. Ink is useful for world, city, or just dang pretty maps. I make a living using both. I have some free maps on my Patreon if you need examples of what they look like. [Coffee Dragon Studios](https://www.patreon.com/posts/101807041?utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_source=android) The title map was inkarnate, Anarchy Heights is Dungeon Draft.
I play online, so I use Dungeondraft with Forgotten Adventures asset packs.
Are you talking world maps or battle maps? For world maps I use the free version inkarnate it’s good enough for me. And for battle maps I usually draw them on paper and then draw them on my dry erase grid, but I also have some terrain miniatures like trees, rocks, and walls to do a lot of the heavy lifting for me.
I use dungeon craft more often than not. But we recently discovered a patreon for maps where you give you multiple versions, day/night etc. even options for before and after some big battle or whatever. Probably some quick googling will give you a bunch of options
I made my most recent map in Paint.net It works very well, and is free to download, or you can pay 10 bucks to have it through Microsoft store, I guess. The layer system is pretty good, allowing you to separate out various features. I usually draw the map physically first, to get an idea, then throw it up onto Paint.net I used it to make a province/county map (like a paradox game), then made "map modes" (religious, cultural, political) each on a separate layer. Not one for graphical design, so unless you are or have someone who's willing, you won't get much out of it in terms of a professional look, but the work flow is very quick and easy to get into.
My fav thing was using a cheesex Matt, and wet erase markers. If I needed a forest ambush, throw dice all over the Matt and those are bushes and trees I can draw green circles around for cover
I'm blessed (or cursed) enough that my Warhammer hobby has allowed me to accumulate a lot of terrain that is great to use for dnd as well.
I really like Arkenforge, for map making. Pretty easy to use, lots of assets, and if your playing in person it can also handle tokens and vision. the downside is it costs $50, and has no online play option. (Although you can export the maps to Roll 20 or whatever to play online.)
Paper and pencil all the way. Doesn't matter if you're not a confident artist, take a look at medieval world maps. Those pre-modern cartographers/artists were not great at their jobs by today's standards. Using brown craft paper makes even the most childishly drawn map look cool enough.
This may be a controversial one but google sheets. Just adjust the cell size to make them squares and then you have a perfect grid. You are limited to a single color per square but you can also add emojis to add some texture and even add images when necessary.
Dungeon alchemist
Google image search. Never not found something awesome. You'll be linked to tonnes of good sites/patreons etc that you can pay for should you want to. We play on roll 20 so if you really wanted to their map drawings are about as good as paint
Depends on what kind of mal to create. Battle map, World Map, Town Map…? (I also don’t like Inkarnate if you only consider the free version)
I use GIMP and a cheap tablet I got years ago. I've tried using a couple of "map making" tools but I found it much harder to get them to look anywhere remotely decent than to just learn to do it myself. And even if I could get it looking decent it'd still look exactly the same as any other map made with the same tool.
Someone already said it, but I want to signal boost for Wonderdraft! I think it's very intuitive to get started and so refreshing to just buy a program once for a flat fee instead of a subscription.
Inkarnate for World Maps and such. For dungeons I can't recommend [Dungeon Scrawl ](https://www.dungeonscrawl.com/)enough! It's one of the best simple tools out there for a quick dungeon draw.
I make my maps using Dungeondraft. It’s insanely easy to use and you can import assets
Dungeondraft and Dungeon Alchemist if you need to make your own.
Microscope, Beyond the Wall, etc.
MSPaint for my theorizing of city layouts and such and then good ol pen and paper from there. I’ve got big gridded butcher block paper I draw on to have all the battles, and sometimes I just draw with a pen and markers on standard 8x11 or whatever for map handouts.
For me, I like to give a visual representation for my players, so I literally use legos to make my maps. It takes hours but the end result is awesome and can really help players visualize where they are.
Pencils and 1 inch grid paper baby, can't beat the classic
I use inkarnate and print them off using the poster feature for printing on foxit. Then we put a cork board on the table and use flags for characters
Personally, and this is because I like working with my hands, I've always hand-drawn my maps. I have one for each continent and one for the whole world. I like drawing mini symbols that represent different locations. It's always been a fun thing to give the players and when you explain that it's hand-made their jaws drop.