DnD: Why BATTLEMAPS can MAKE or BREAK your FIGHTS.

Hello Everyone!

Battlemaps are an integral part of many DnD campaigns, but what should be a canvas for near endless possibilities, often turns into a space filled with stationary creatures hitting each other until they pass out.

This is an example of a stationary combat, in which the players just hold their ground against waves of enemies, without utilizing the movement mechanics of the game, essentially trading blows until they die.

Especially for large and complex battles, battlemaps can effectively convey the size and state of the combat, while also showcasing openings and opportunities. This is a more board-gamey approach to DnD, but if your group likes to strategize about possible moves and their outcomes, this can be perfect for you.

A good battlemap does not have to be large or good looking (Although that can set the mood), but it should have gimmicks that enhance the gameplay, such as traps, secret passages, hazards, cover, battlements, siege weapons, environmental effects and impairments, such as storms, mud, snow, rolling stones (Not necessarily the band, but you do you) and thick foliage.

Here is an example:

The crudely drawn red arrows in this situation are supposed to showcase some of the opportunities presented on the battlemap: Large shields on the walls can be taken down and used as cover, standing torches can be utilized to light arrows or start a fire, marble pillars can collapse if attacked with enough force or by something large enough, windows can be broken for a flying character to enter or leave and may pose an escape possibility, while the furniture can be used as cover, vantage points, barricades or firewood.

I always let the players interact with the map and often let them shape it in someway. This has led to the collapse of basement ceilings due to polymorph spells, forest fires and burnt down towns (Pyromaniacs, the lot of them). Now, if you want to create your own battlemaps, I suggest you try out the following sites:

Inkarnate is a powerful mapmaking tool for both small and large scale maps and has a very user-friendly interface along with many different stamps. Keep in mind that it has a very distinct style, but that’s not necessarily a problem. You can use the free version with limited assets or subscribe to the paid version to unlock all features.
Dungeonscrawl is completely free and quite simple, as shown by both it’s user interface and the maps it puts out. You can also make many maps extremely fast with it’s toolkit.
Donjon is a free random dungeon generator, that can put out a wide array of connected rooms in a simple art style.

There are many more tools, such as Dungeondraft, Dungeonalchemist, Dungeonfog, Wonderdraft and Arkenforge, but we (The team) haven’t tried them out yet, since we’ve been very happy with Inkarnate so far.

Feel free to take these maps for anything you need, two of them were made in Inkarnate, one with Dungeonscrawl and another one with Donjon. Just see what suits your style and how much effort (and money) you wish to put into map-making.