VTT Maps

[Rev Hellfire]

We have for the past few years, been running most of our RPG games online.
Primarily since because we are geographically spread out, doing so makes it much more convenient to establish regular play.

Started simply with Owlbear Rodeo which was at the time a free, no-frills VTT, we then moving over to Foundry VTT due to its greater feature set and the ability to self-host.

And while using a VTT does not preclude the use of theatre of the mind, some games seem to favour a more map oriented playstyle.
With for example our Call of Cthulhu games having a stronger emphasis on TOTM, while DnD seems for us to be more map focused.
It's the same players, just the way the games seem to work lend themselves to one style of play over another.

The following is the list of map making software I've personally used.

• Inkarnate - https://inkarnate.com
  A well-known and regarded service for creating maps, though to get most out of it requires having a subscription.
  The free tier restricts the size of the maps the number assets available.
• Dungeon Designer 3 - https://www.profantasy.com/products/dd3.asp
  Dungeon Designer is a add-on for Campaign Cartographer 3, that provides tools and assets for creating maps of dungeons and caverns.
  It can be often found for sale as a bundle on Humble Bundle, which is how I would recommend getting it.
  Getting via the bundle does give you a lot of assets and styles, but as a piece of software its does show its age in both performance and usability when compared to other newer map making offerings.
• Dungeon Draft - https://dungeondraft.net
  Dungeon Draft is another tool for creating maps for VTTs, similar to Inkarnate in terms of look and feel.
  It has a one-time fee of $19.99 and comes out of the box with rudimentary assets. But it can be easily extended though both free and paid packs which close the gap between it and Inkarnate , making it preferable to Inkarnate free tier in my view.

So with that in mind, I thought I would use this thread to serve as an archive for maps.
Don't be expecting highly detailed maps, I've a preference for the more simple sort. I like leaving the players to fill in the gaps.

[Rev Hellfire]

I'll start off with some maps I used for encounters for "B2: Keep on the Borderlands".
Namely a mysterious portal and stone hut located deep in the forest to the north of the Keep.
These were created using Inkarnate

The Stone Hovel

The Forgotten Portal

[Rev Hellfire]

Here are two maps made using the default assets available in Dungeon Draft.

Agatha's Lair
This is an encounter map we used with the DnD starter set "Lost mine of Phandelver", where the players are tasked with seeking out a Banshee who resides in the Neverwinter Wood to the north-west of the ruins of Conyberry.

A home of sorts is sheltered within the dome of woven branches. It is sparsely furnished with chests, shelves, a table, and a reclined couch, all of it old and of elven craft.
src: Lost mine of Phandelver, pg. 28

Forest Encounter
Creating simple encounter maps in a breeze when using Dungeon Draft, by way of example here is a simple forest encounter map.

The adventurers tread cautiously through the dense, mist-shrouded woods, their senses on high alert as an unsettling silence replaces the usual forest sounds, and an eerie feeling of being watched creeps over them.