Summary
You’ve got everything set up for yourDungeons & Dragonsgame. Fromthe monstersto the combat, you think you may just have prepared enough that, hopefully, your players won’t steer far from your plot. But then you realise that you’ve forgotten to make the maps.
Mapmaking can be a difficult skill for a new DM to pick up. Whether it’s making a map for your homebrew world or trying to create something unique for your session’s combat, it can certainly be a challenge. However, nowadays, it’s easier than ever to use the tools around to make a good map, so here are a few handy tips that will turn you into a mapmaking connoisseur.
8Use Online Resources
The Internet Is Your Best Friend
With sites likeInkarnate, it’s easier than ever to whip up a map. If you’re looking to create a world map, then you can’t go wrong with a program like this which will enable you to use all sorts of pre-made icons and tools to craft a realistic and geographical map of whatever you like. You can even label things too and can easily save and share the image to print out or share with your players.
Online resources will be a big help when it comes to making maps, and you should utilise them whenever you can.
7Start With A Small Scale Map Before Trying Your Hand At A Larger One
Your Monsters Can Be Big But Your Maps Don’t Have To Be
Before you even think of making a map, however, you need to get a sense of scale. Sure, you’re going to create a map of a forest, but what exactly does that mean? If it’s a map of the entire forest to give to your players, then you have a sense it’ll need to be a pretty big map.
However, if it’s just a combat map that happens to be set in a forest, then you’re able to focus on a much smaller scale and come up with some ideas on what the grid size will be. You don’t want to end up making your map bigger or smaller than it has to be.
6Study Geography
Being A DM Can Be Homework
If you’re making amap for your homebrewworld, then studying geography is key. Look at actual maps from other fantasy properties or, better yet, look at real world maps. You don’t need to get a degree in Geography to learn about different geographical tidbits (such as rivers coming from mountains).
It’s just something that will help you get an idea of what your map will look like, and it’s little details like that which will help you improve and craft something that’s more realistic.
5Keep It Simple
Don’t Try To Overprepare
A lot of the time when you think of a map for a nation or perhaps some elaborate lair, you’re likely thinking of that word,elaborate.But oftentimes, you really don’t need your maps to be something that’s so complex. Most of the time, maps can be quite simple and just chart out basic territory and geographical landmarks for navigation.
Other times, you’ll just be creating a map for a limited environment like a city street or a path in the middle of the woods. You don’t need to burden it with tons of details as this can take up a lot of your time as you overprepare. As long as the map is accurate and gets across what you’re going for, then you’re good.
4Experiment With Terrain
When You’re Comfortable, Spice Up Your Maps
When it comes to crafting maps, it’s hard to make it unique, but you’re able to certainly try. Although you shouldn’t get too bogged down in the details, you can try to create some moreexperimental with your environmentswhen you get comfortable to try some new things.
Some examples of such ideas would be having a river run red with lava or glowing with magic. You could have ghosts and spirits represented on the map to denote a haunted place or attempt to include more rough terrain on the map.
3Spice It Up With Overlays
Roll20 Is Perfect For This
If you play online onRoll20, then you can use overlays in order to make your map that much better. You can upload your map and have it as a background but for objects that could be interactable such as doors, trees and more, you could have some of them be inserted and overlayed on a different layer.
This is especially helpful for when enemies are hiding, letting you change the layer they’re on from a GM layer to one that all the players can see and making them ‘pop’ out of nowhere. It’s a great way to further add detail to your maps.
2Don’t Pack It With Too Much To Do
Maps Need To Be Easily Readable
Sometimes you may just have so many great ideas you want it all. But you should be careful with packing too much information on a map. A map is supposed to first and foremost be helpful and having too many towns and landmarks in one area or so many trees that your forest map is clogged can be a real issue.
Be sure to look at your map after the fact and space things out when necessary, making everything easily presentable and readable if there’s ever any text on your map.
1Maps Are A Guide
Make Sure Your Players Understand What They’re Looking At
The most important thing to note is that maps are a guide. Unless there’s some narrative reason otherwise, maps are meant to help the people who are reading them. You need to be sure that your maps are clear and something that can be followed.
This is especially true for combat maps, as your players will rely on such a map to know where they are, the distance they are from enemies, important details, etc. So be sure that all of this is easy to see and understand before you finalise your map for a game.
