How to make a battle map for free (D&D and tabletop RPGs)

1. Start from a place, not from a blank grid

A blank grid is the slowest way to begin. Quest World has thirty ready-made places (a tavern, a crypt, a forest road, a dragon's lair and more) that open in the master's workshop. Pick the one closest to your scene and change it: it is much faster than drawing every wall.

Each place is drawn anew every time you open it, so even the same tavern is never quite the same room.

• Tavern▶
• Crypt▶
• Forest road▶

2. Paint the terrain cell by cell

In the workshop you paint the map one square at a time: stone floor, grass, water, walls, doors, trees and treasure. Think about how the fight will move: a narrow door makes a choke point, water slows the party down, a few trees give the archers cover.

A good battle map has at least two ways to reach the enemy and one thing to hide behind. If every square is open floor, the fight becomes a slugging match.

3. Hide what the heroes have not seen yet

Fog of war keeps the unexplored rooms dark until the party gets there. It is what turns a map into a dungeon: the players only see the corridor in front of them, and the surprise in the next room stays a surprise.

4. Choose the look: 3D or hand-drawn 2D

The same map works in 3D, with light and shadows, or as a hand-drawn 2D map. You can switch at any time. 3D is great on a TV to set the mood; 2D is clearer on a tablet lying flat under your miniatures. You can also walk into the map with the first-person view to show the players what their heroes see.

5. Run the fight on the same map

When the map is ready, the fight happens right there: initiative order, hit points, attacks, spells and dice, with fifth-edition (SRD 5.1) characters and monsters. Everything is saved, so you can stop at the cliffhanger and pick the session up next week.