Mapping software

[Velderan]

Any suggestions on software to make a world map with? I know we have a bunch of homebrewers here so I was hoping to get some recommendations to check out. Probably should specify it would be for a D&D or Pathfinder campaign.

 

[Morrus]

Inkarnate is very good. Online tool. You don’t have to install anything.

 

[Vardelm]

Yep. Inkarnate is good, and VERY simple to use. Wonderdraft is another that gives similar-ish results, but I think requires a download. Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator might do the trick as well. Like Inkarnate, it's online, but it's map-style is much different, but you also can generate whole worlds with cultures, etc. that can act as a starting point for world building.

 

[Velderan]

Yep. Inkarnate is good, and VERY simple to use. Wonderdraft is another that gives similar-ish results, but I think requires a download. Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator might do the trick as well. Like Inkarnate, it's online, but it's map-style is much different, but you also can generate whole worlds with cultures, etc. that can act as a starting point for world building.

I've used Dungeondraft for making battle maps. It's simple enough to use, so maybe Wonderdraft is where I should start looking. I appreciate the lack of DRM on Dungeondraft so I can put it on a couple computers I use without issues, guessing Wonderdraft is similar in that approach. Thanks for the suggestions with links! I'll definitely check them out.

 

[Hand of Evil]

There are lots, Campaign Cartographer, been around for years, NDOS Fantasy Mapper, Photoshop, the ones mentioned above and some new ones in the works.

Thing to remember is that you are the user and to find the best one for your needs. I have seen too many people get frustrated with mapping software. Check out free versions to find what you are looking for.

 

[Nikosandros]

If you like hex maps, another suggestion is Worldographer.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Oh, you may want t check out Dungeon Alchemist

 

[Xamnam]

Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator might do the trick as well. Like Inkarnate, it's online, but it's map-style is much different, but you also can generate whole worlds with cultures, etc. that can act as a starting point for world building.

This is what I've used and will second. Excellent at generating a basis that you can then tweak as inspired, and has a whole host of downstream attributes like biomes and nation boundaries that populate based on what "makes sense" for that world and the variables you set. Definitely a learning curve, and more than is strictly necessary, but once I got familiar with it, I loved it.

 

[gamerprinter]

I've never used "mapping software" in my life, rather I use standard graphics applications, in my case Xara Designer Pro, a vector drawing program like Illustrator. I create websites and PDFs from it as well, but it's what I use to create maps professionally. I make encounter scale, city scale, regional and world maps, star system and galaxy maps all from the same program. I can import any file type for objects or photo repeating textures. I create all my map symbols using the program. I do hand-drawn map, digitally scanned and finished in Xara. I create purely digital, vector based maps as well using the same program. I've created 100 page published adventures with maps, illustrations, tables, exporting to PDF, even PDFX.1a for professional printing of game books - all from Xara. If I didn't also create 3D maps, which require a separate program, I'd create everything I do in Xara...

 

[uzirath]

I've never used "mapping software" in my life, rather I use standard graphics applications, in my case Xara Designer Pro, a vector drawing program like Illustrator.

I'd love to see some examples of your work. Do you have any links to samples?