Subject: Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #12: Online Sources of Free Maps
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Thank you for requesting:
Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #12
"Online Sources of Free Maps"
Edited by Scorpio,Scorp099@go.com
In Issue #142 Joachim de Ravenbel posted a tip about using a
second binder while GMing and stuffing it full of maps for
emergencies and planning assistance. He posted a few links
and a request for more. You responded and I'm happy to
provide you with the following list of online sources for
freebie maps.
Thanks for the links!
Cheers,
Johnn Four
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
http://www.roleplayingtips.com
Report bad links: johnn@roleplayingtips.com
Report new links: johnn@roleplayingtips.com
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Contents/Categories:
0. Update History
1. Pre-made Maps from Reader's Campaigns
2. Pre-made Generic Maps and Map Resources
3. Historical and Modern Maps from Planet Earth
4. Map Generators and Map-Making Programs
5. Miscellaneous Sites-3D Maps, Maps from Literature,
Cartography Links, Etc.
6. Mapping Software Reviews
7. Paper Figs
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0. Update History
25JAN04 - Added 4 links to historical section
(newer links are always pasted at the top of
a section)
17JAN04
- Added 0. Update History section
- Added 7. Paper Figs section
- Added links to sections #4 & #7
2003 - Document created and distributed
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1. Pre-Made Maps from Reader's Campaigns
>From Maelstrom's Atlas of Kaladia:
http://www.darkfuries.com/floorplans.shtml
http://www.darkfuries.com/maps.shtml
http://www.darkfuries.com/workshop.shtml
>Maps of the Frevat Campaign:
http://users.interconnect.net/indy/
>From the Western Realms Campaign:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8306/wr_newhome.html
>CC2 Maps from Mystara:
http://www.users.waitrose.com/~alanderekjones/index.html
>The following link leads to the main page of the maps from
my game world Ba'Kara. Most of them are town/city maps. They
are full color and suitable for use in any fantasy role
playing game. The descriptions will only need minor work to
be used. They are free for anyone to use as long as they
leave the copy right on the map.
http://members.tripod.com/~BaronPa/index4.html
Ty Dobson, Great River Games
>One of the reasons people move to HarnMaster is the quality
of maps for manors and towns. The best site for links to
everything Harnic is:
http://www.harnlink.com
However, recently I have gone through this and listed all
these sites by category, so I have a maps site at:
http://www.shorkyne.harnmaster.net/links.html
>A large Neverwinter Nights resource site:
http://www4.tpg.com.au/gouault/links.htm
>From the World of Gor-Map makers guild and more:
http://members.tripod.com/~BadDwarf/
>Breminor-Below is a map to our website where we have posted
more than 25 maps for download. These maps were created
using Profantasy's CC2 software but a free viewer (available
at the Profantasy site) makes them accessible by all. While
many of the maps are specific to the campaign world we're
running, many others are maps of towns, buildings and other
locales that could be dropped into any campaign. The Genre
on these is fantasy, but again, some of the maps lend
themselves to other genres as well. Here is the link. Keep
up the good work.
http://www.breminor.com/id41.htm
>World of Lamaar - In the "Mapper's Guild" area you can see
a couple of great maps and if you ask him nicely aS (I don't
even know his real name) can send you some larger version of
the maps in question (a 1.4 Mb 300 dpi version of the
"Kingdoms of the West" and a 800 kb version of the Darkmere
sketch)
http://www.dnotice.de/Lamaar/
>The City of Solis Library - old index
http://www.solis-media.co.uk/relocated/rpg_archive/solis/solislibrary/
>Town of Visira - List of Buildings
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/6394/visira_list.html
>The Zhodani Base - Classic Traveller RPG in Foreven Sector,
Spinward Marches and other Frontier Regions. Traveller star
Maps:
http://zho.berka.com/
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2. Pre-made Generic Maps and Map Resources
>A great site for roleplaying and wargaming maps and
resources:
http://tamerthya.freeservers.com/25mm.html
http://tamerthya.freeservers.com/cartography.html
>A Google search of generic floorplans:
http://images.google.com/images?num=20&hl=en&q=floor+plans
>A good DM's resource site with a lot of CC2 maps:
(http://hiddenway.tripod.com/contents.html)
>Wizard of the Coast's Map-A-Week and Archives:
http://wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/mw/mw20021010a
>And from Dungeon Magazine:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dungeon/93/downloads
>Archives from NetRPG:
http://www.netrpg.com/features/great_net_map_archive.html
>The Fantasy Floorplan collection-free for download:
http://members.tripod.com/~floorplans/floorplans.html
>Some collections of maps suitable for OpenRPG:
http://www.d20reviews.com/csp/
http://www.darwinrpg.com
http://www.openrpg.com
http://www.rpgobjects.com
http://www.rpgarchive.com
http://www.rpgregistry.com
>More downloadable overland maps:
http://www.corhub.com/maps09.htm#Other_Named
>Odds and ends collection of downloadable maps:
http://bejoscha.free.fr/maps.htm
>Huge collection of CC2 maps from The Wanderer:
http://crpp0001.uqtr.uquebec.ca/www_wanderer/Towns/CC2Maps/Cartes_CC2.html
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3. Historical and Modern Maps from Planet Earth
>Charles Booth's Poverty Map of London, late 1800's:
http://booth.lse.ac.uk/
(this one is really cool!)
>UCLA's interactive map of London 1859:
http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/1859map/map1859.html
>A big map of London c1854:
http://www.victorianlondon.org/1854map/1854map.htm
>The Bodley Library, Oxford University Map Room:
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/boris/guides/maps/maproom.htm
>Library of Congress maps
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html
>The Yale Library map collection has historical maps:
http://www.library.yale.edu/MapColl/online.html
>This site was recently called to my attention for its
interest to me as a historical gamer. My first thought upon
seeing it was that it might be an absolutely brilliant
resource for roleplayers. It has history, detailed maps, and
room-by-room notes for all 62 tombs (and 2 other
excavations) in the Valley of Kings in Egypt, including a
narrated virtual tour of one of the tombs. Every room and
corridor has dimensions, notes on original use (where the
researchers are willing to speculate), current condition,
and contents. Also, every tomb that I've looked at has a
narrated movie describing its history. The information is
obtained by clicking the "Launch Atlas" link, which opens a
Flash app. At times this can take quite a while to load a
new section (I got several warnings that my computer might
become "unresponsive" if the Flash script continued.)
http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/
>I would recommend David Rumsey 's Page- There are hand-
drawn maps from year 1850 or something. They look very nice,
and you can zoom in quite a lot and get a map of some place
nobody knows and use it as a map for a fantasy RPG also.
www.davidrumsey.com
>Great site for Historical Maps, as well as some generic
ones:
http://www.legolas.org/castle/
>Gigantic Map archives from the University of Texas:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/index.html
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/index.html
>If you want to create a really large city, Greenwood's Map
of 1827 London is a great resource:
http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/greenwood/index.html
>Current and Historical maps from the Office of Coast
Survey:
http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/csdl/ctp/abstract.htm
>The Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World-part of
the Classical Atlas Project:
http://www.unc.edu/depts/cl_atlas/
>A really nice site with historical maps, these print out
nicely:
http://www.b-ware.com/hive/fplans/
>An Atlas of The Universe:
http://www.anzwers.org/free/universe/
>This is just so damn cool, Good for sci-fi GM's to mess
with to get a feel for space. John Sullivan
http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
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4. Map Generators and Map-Making Programs
>Grid Smith is a program for mapping dungeons for
miniatures. I downloaded the sample program on Sunday
morning and had bought the total package by afternoon. This
thing is great if you use miniatures and want something
better than a battlemat, but don't want to buy Dwarven
Forge. It is quick and easy to use. Here is the link.
http://www.bytemountain.com/gridsmith/gsdefault.asp
>Instant Map Makers from Irony Games, great in a pinch:
http://www.irony.com/webtools.html
>Pretty good online CGI random dungeon generator:
http://www.visi.com/~drow/gaming/dungeon/
>A really detailed village generator, along with other
utilities and resources from The Cave:
http://spitfire.ausys.se/johan/cave/default.asp
>DM Dungeon Design Tool (commercial)
http://www.dreamingmerchant.com/dmdd.html
>The Fractal Mapper 6.0 from NBOS Software (commercial)
http://www.nbos.com/
>Campaign Cartographer 2, Dungeon Designer 2, City Designer
2, and more (commercial)
http://www.profantasy.com
>Symbols. etc. from Pro Fantasy's Library:
http://www.profantasy.com/library/default.asp
>Discussion group, archives, and world-building forum
related to CC2:
http://www.openhere.com/games/role-playing/world-building/map-making/tools/campaign-cartographer/
>Hex Mapper... Brilliant for creating maps in a rush or even
converting old scanned paper based maps to a hex system:
http://www.paonline.com/zaikoski/ak/tools.htm
> My homepage has a program for producing random maps:
http://www.diku.dk/~torbenm
>Interesting collection of downloadable generators for
castles, worlds, and galaxies
http://jendaveallen.com/builder/castle/index.html
http://jendaveallen.com/builder/world/index.html
http://jendaveallen.com/builder/galaxy/index.html
>Jamis Buck's On-line dungeon generator, with a lot of
parameters for customization:
http://www.aarg.net/~minam/dungeon.cgi
>AutoRealm-A very good and free Mapping program with support
group:
http://www.gryc.ws/autorealm.htm
>Izandawo-Another free program with support group and
archives:
http://www.realmcreator.com/
>Continent maker, ship maker, and more generators here:
http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/tools/tools.html
>Interesting on-line fractal world generator with a variety
of options:
http://www.lysator.liu.se/~johol/fwmg/fwmg.html
>Downloadable Tavern Generator-a lot of detail:
http://bejoscha.free.fr/tavern/tavern.htm
>More free generators for download:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8306/index.html
>DungeonCrafter is a great site. I use the maps to design my
dungeons, towns, villages, inns and castles! The DC team has
recently released version 2. It's tile based, free, and easy
to use.
http://www.dungeoncrafter.com/
>Create 3D environments with City and Realm Overseer 3D
(commercial)
http://forgottenrealms3d.com/v2/co3d/index.htm
>Terragen - Make beautiful topo images of canyons,
mountains, islands, etc.:
http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/
>Terrain Generator for use with povray (vision raytracer for
great graphics)
http://www.povray.org/
http://www.ericjorgensen.com/html/tm.htm
>GenesisII freeware-more topo generators and imaging:
http://www.geomantics.com/
>A painfully detailed Fractal Terrain generator:
http://www.gameprogrammer.com/fractal.html
>"For lack of a better name, this software is called Wilbur.
It allows an individual to play with terrain data (height
fields). It can import data from and export data to many
popular file formats. In addition, it allows the data to be
modified with a number of image processing operations as
well as height field painting tools."
http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/~jslayton/software.html
>GRASS (heavy -duty real mapping software, IMHO more than a
GM would want to deal with)
http://www.geog.uni-hannover.de/grass/
http://www.cecer.army.mil/grass/GRASS.main.html
>Online Cavern Maker -- BETA, still some bugs with deadends
to be worked out
http://www.kerlinsoftworks.com/software/geomorph/
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5. Miscellaneous Sites-3D Maps, Maps from Literature,
Cartography Links, Etc.
>Fantasy Mapmaking-an interesting primer:
http://www.fantasymaps.com/101/
>Peter's guide to map creation: How to create fantasy maps -
great site by a fellow Dane
http://hjem.get2net.dk/medwyn/maps.html
>World Builder Page - Landscape Utilities for Making maps:
http://mark.technolope.org/pages/builder.html
>This is a Heroquest floortile site but the tiles can be
printed out and used in any miniatures RPG. There are tiles
by a number of contributors and both fantasy and sci-fi:
http://www.aginsinn.com
>This is a good site if you want to use 3d floorplans. It's
a bit fiddly but the results are good. Again both fantasy
and sci fi.
http://www.germy.co.uk
>Arda-a very extensive archive of maps from Tolkien's LOTR:
http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/maps.html
>A site of links to maps and resources:
http://jendaveallen.com/builder/city/index.html
>An educational map site of Earth in a number of projections
with terminology:
http://hum.amu.edu.pl/~zbzw/glob/glob1.htm
>An interesting Italian site of museum-quality globes:
http://www.bo.astro.it/dip/Museum/italiano/index_14.html
>The Wanderer site provides an extensive listing of map-
related links:
http://crpp0001.uqtr.uquebec.ca/www_wanderer/Towns/Towns.html
>Starmap generator, maps, and source code. Pretty intensive.
http://www.projectrho.com/starmap.html
>A massive downloadable star/solar system generator with
archives:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/7472/
>3-dimensional models from Wizards of the Coast:
http://wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=minis/ch20020827pmx
>Caeldera is a 'World building' community site.
http://www.flatearth.com/caeldera/default.asp
>Another 'World building' site, the Fargoth World Building
Project:
http://www.fargoth.com/
>MapMakerPlus-Cartographic Fonts for maps and floorplans:
http://www.fontcraft.com/mapmaker/fonts.html
>Extensive History of Cartography site:
http://feature.geography.wisc.edu/histcart/
>A free and easy-to-use file converter I have found useful
for mapping programs:
http://www.xnview.com/
>Extensive Map Link page with a lot of Star maps and
utilities:
http://www.hut.fi/%7Evesanto/link.maps/maps.html
>The Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World-part of
the Classical Atlas Project:
http://www.unc.edu/depts/cl_atlas/
>Yet another great set of Mapping links with world building
in mind:
http://www.tesarta.com/www/resources/maps.html
>World-building forum and groups from WebRPG:
http://townhall.webrpg.com/index.phtml?groupid=550
>Off the wall-THE FULLER MAP
http://www.nous.org.uk/BFMAP.html
>I'm out on a limb here-the Paleomap Project shows the
evolution of our continents and possible future continents:
http://www.scotese.com/
>This very interesting site is also a fantastic source of
magical and mythical/religious texts, should you ever be
short of some mythos...
http://www.sacred-texts.com/piri/index.htm
>Here are some Cardstock Diorama sites:
http://www.microtactix.com/site/ccrmain.shtml
http://www.microtactix.com/site/dcmain.shtml
http://www.microtactix.com/site/vcmain.shtml
>Here's some advice on Card Modeling that might help...and
don't forget to check for some company links and freebies on
their FAQ page-
http://www.cardfaq.org/faq/
http://www.cardfaq.org/faq/freeb.html
>Here are some more Cardstock links:
http://www.brumbaer.de/Wm/Build/index.html
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sparks.htm
http://www.wargamescenics.com/index.html
http://www.fantasycutouts.com/GuardTower.html
>And some plastic Scenery for your gaming:
http://www.modelrailroads.net/scenery.shtml
http://www.bragdonent.com/
>A couple of Educational Map Programs:
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/owlmouse.htm
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/mrcp/elcutandbuil.html
>And, If none of the links have worked for you so far,
Custom Designed Maps of any style can be obtained at:
http://www.morningstarmaps.com
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6. Mapping Software Reviews
A) Dreaming Merchant Dungeon Designer
=====================================
Review by: Jared Hunt
Publisher: Dreaming Merchant
http://www.dreamingmerchant.com/
Author Credits: Jim Anuszczyk
Pros
----
- Easy to learn and use.
- Versions for Windows and Mac.
- Low price.
Cons
----
- Grid dependent.
- Poor results with black & white printing.
DMDD is a grid-based mapping utility that includes features
for creating room descriptions and random generators
(macros).
The basic features of the program include:
- 270+ mapping graphics.
- Graph paper background with two grid settings (loose or
tight grid).
- 6 background colour options: black, white, grass, stone,
dirt, and water.
- 3 levels of stone, dirt, and water tiles, differentiated
by darker and lighter colours.
- 3 sets of mapping features: Dungeon, Wilderness, and City.
To create a map, you choose a feature from the menu that
surrounds the drawing area, and place it on the graph by
clicking. A red circle surrounds the feature you currently
have selected and you can place as many of a symbol as you
wish before choosing another. Tools for moving, deleting,
and locking tiles are also included.
The dungeon mapping tile-set includes:
- A variety of door tiles (wood, stone, iron, secret).
- Symbols for barred doors and pits.
- 3 levels of stairs and ramps.
- Symbols for traps.
- A variety of wall symbols.
- Pillars, pools, wooden flooring, and rubble symbols.
- Symbols for sensory information (sights, sounds).
- Monster symbols.
The wilderness set includes:
- Multiple styles of waterways.
- Multiple pathway/trail/road styles.
- Trail, grave, campsite, and border markers.
- Forest and undergrowth symbols.
The city set includes:
- More road types.
- More wall types.
- Windows.
- Roofing styles.
- Furniture.
The Room Writer feature allows the map creator to include
room titles and descriptions keyed to numbers on the map. By
including macros (many of which are available by free
download) in the room descriptions, the mapper can create
dice rolling buttons, random encounters, monsters,
treasures, etc.
I.M.H.O.
--------
First Impression: When I first opened the Dungeon Designer I
thought it was too simple to be really useful. Well, I was
right that it's simple, but I was dead wrong about it's
usefulness. In fact, the simplicity of DMDD is what makes it
such a great utitility.
With very little practice, I was able to create a simple
dungeon map in about 15 minutes. After going back and adding
room descriptions I found I could create an evening's
dungeon crawl in less than an hour.
Two problems did arise while I was using DMDD. The first
came up when I tried to recreate and existing map that was
not made with DMDD. The second arose when I used my laser
printer to print the beautiful (full colour) dungeon map I
had created. Being completely grid-based, DMDD has trouble
creating complex shapes (the map had a star shaped room that
just didn't work out). I wouldn't really call this a problem
with the software, just a limitation in what you can do with
it.
Since the majority of the tiles in DMDD are differentiated
by tones of colour, printing in monochrome does the maps no
justice at all. Printed in black and white, water, dirt, and
stone appear pretty much the same. Secret, stone, and wooden
doors are almost identical in tone as well. Again, this is
not a flaw in the program, just a limitation for anyone tied
to their laser printer like I am.
The macro features of DMDD are very cool. Also very cool is
the fact that hundreds of pre-defined macros are available
for free from the Dreaming Merchant web site. Although I
don't use a computer at the game table, it took little
imagination to see how useful it could be to have random
generators built into your map.
Additionally, DMDD offers the option to export your map as a
web site and to include the write-up in simple HTML. If
there isn't one already I can certainly see the advent of a
huge list of dungeons for public use, a feature that would
make the software even more valuable.
In My Humble Opinion, Dreaming Merchant's Dungeon Designer
is a very simple program that scores highly for its ease of
use and affordability.
B) Fractal Mapper
=================
Review by: Jared Hunt
Publisher: NBOS Software
http://www.nbos.com/
Sample Features list:
- Vector graphics engine. Each object placed on the map can
be individually selected and modified. The graphics engine
supports object rotation, mirroring, flipping, resizing,
reshaping, scaled (geometric) lines, and bitmap pattern
fills. In addition, the mapper features powerful zooming
support.
- GoblinAPI Integrated scripting interface. You can use
VBScript to alter and generate maps.
- Drawing Tools. The standard set of drawing tools includes:
Fractal Landmass Tool, Triangular Fractal Landmass Tool,
Fractal Line Tool, Fractal Path Tool, Fractal Freehand Line
Tool, Fractal Freehand Landmass Tool, Rectangle Tool,
Triangle Tool, Angled Rectangle Tool, Straight Line Tool,
Circle Tool, Arc Tool, Hallway Tool, Fractal Polyline Tool,
Fractal Polygon Tool, Spline Curve Tool, Mapping Symbol
Tool, Random Map Symbol Fill Tool, and the Building Tool.
- Custom drawing tools. Using the GoblinAPI, you can enhance
and extend The Fractal Mapper's standard set of drawing
tools to add your own.
- Pattern fills. All polygon objects (landmasses, buildings,
paths, etc) can be filled with a bitmap pattern.
- Printing across multiple pages, fit to page, or at
specific zoom percentages is supported. When square grids
are set, you can even print the map out at specific sizes,
such as 1 grid = 1 inch. The entire map or a portion can be
printed. Maps printed across multiple pages can be
'overprinted' to make them easier to tape together.
- Graphics Export. Maps can be exported as bitmap or JPEG
graphic files. Either the entire map or a portion of the map
can be exported.
- Vector Export. The Fractal Mapper can export shapes
(islands, rivers, etc.) to CAD style .DXF files, and to web
.SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files.
- The Fractal Mapper integrates with an add-on called NBOS
Online. NBOS Online is NBOS's online map sharing repository.
You can upload and share your maps with others.
- Grids. The mapper can place square, hex, or dot grids of
any color or size on your map. Grids can be placed above or
below the objects on your map.
- Globe View. The Fractal Mapper can project your map around
an interactive globe. You can zoom in and out on the globe,
and rotate it in all directions.
- Color Mapping Symbols (nearly 400 of them). Mapping
symbols are either standard bitmap graphics files or Fractal
Mapper files - it's easy to add your own.
- Campaign Notes. The mapper can store all of your campaign
notes along with your map. Each object on your map can have
it's own notes. All the notes stored on your map can easily
be compiled with the mapper's 'gazetteer', or exported as an
HTML document (web page).
- Saved Views. The Fractal Mapper supports user-defined
views. You can define a section of the map as a 'saved
view', and quickly move to that part of the map by selecting
the saved view from the menu.
- Background Maps. You can place graphic files, other maps,
or 3d terrain maps (made with The Fractal World Explorer) on
the background of your map. This is especially useful when
converting scanned hand-drawn maps into Fractal Mapper maps.
- Hyper-linking. Maps can be hyper-linked together to form
interactive atlases. Each object on your map can be assigned
another map as a link.
- Measuring Tool. Allows you to measure the distance in the
measurement unit defined for your map (such as miles), along
a selected line or path.
- Layering. Map objects can be assigned to any of 256
different layers. Layers can be turned on or off to toggle
the display of the objects on them.
- HTML Export. Create a web page from your map and notes.
C) Campaign Cartographer 2 Pro
==============================
Review by: Jared Hunt
Publisher: ProFantasy Software Ltd.
http://www.profantasy.com/
Author Credits: Mark Fulford, Simon Rogers
Pros
- Extremely powerful tool set.
- Good tech-support.
- Suitable for maps of any genre.
Cons
- Steep learning curve.
- Price.
Campaign Cartographer 2 Pro is the core component of a set
of RPG mapping utilities based on Computer Assisted Drafting
(CAD) principles. The complete set includes the add-ons City
Designer 2, Dungeon Designer 2, Fractal Terrains, Character
Artist 2, and Dioramas 2, though only the first three will
be included in this review.
The basic look of CC2 is similar to many drawing programs. A
variety of short-cut buttons line the outer edges of your
screen offering access to the many features of the software.
The similarity to drawing programs is mostly superficial,
however, and CC2 shows its CAD roots in almost every
feature. This difference is primarily experienced in two
ways. Firstly, CC2 treats everything on screen as a separate
object (called an entity in the program). A map is therefore
simply a collection of objects that can be selected,
deleted, stretched, moved, etc. The second difference is in
the way you interface with the program itself. In most
drawing programs the user selects an area and chooses a
command to be executed on the selection. In CC2 it is
exactly the reverse; you select the command you want to use
and then you choose what objects to execute it on.
Sample Features:
- Layering feature that allows you to hide/view each
category of your map symbols individually.
- Shortcut buttons for: landmasses, contours, roads, rivers,
lakes, political borders, and grid creation.
- 10 core catalogs of symbols for adding details ranging
from mountains to cities to natural resources.
- 6 options for zooming.
- Ordering tool for moving objects back and forth on the map
layers.
- Text tool and separate numbering tool.
- Basic drawing tools: lines, paths, polygons, fractals.
The add-ons to CC2 appear as buttons on the main interface
that, when clicked, bring up new sets of buttons and menus
more appropriate to the type of map you want to create.
City Designer 2 (CD2) includes features for creating urban
areas ranging from the smallest medieval village to large
moon-bases. Hundreds (if not thousands) of symbols fill the
catalogs for each genre, allowing for significant variety of
map features. A random street feature allows you to create a
city quite quickly or, if you prefer, the program also has
tools for customizing each individual house. The package
also includes tools for creating demographic views and
hyperlinked indices, both of which can be hidden for
printing or showing to players.
Additional Features:
- Symbol catalogs for multiple genres: fantasy, nomad/igloo,
modern houses, vehicles/roads, gothic, middle eastern,
orc/halfling/elf, modern skyscrapers, and futuristic.
- Road creation tool.
- Random street generator that builds both a road and random
houses aligned to it.
- Grid overlay tool linked to an indexing feature.
- Colour-coded demographic tool.
Dungeon Designer 2 (DD2) offers three basic methods for
creating all kinds of building interiors. The first method
is to use the Add Room and Add Corridor commands to create
and connect the rooms of your map. You can also create a map
using the existing symbols in the DD2 library (this is known
as creating a Geomorph Dungeon). The final method is to use
the drawing commands and create a map freehand. You can also
use the styles in combination. Like CD2, DD2 offers both
shortcuts and the option to customize each feature.
Additional Features:
- 13 catalogs: caves, containers/treasure, debris,
elemental/magic, furniture, simple, temples/statues,
geomorph, traps, stairs/ladders, wall features, weapons, and
walls.
- Add room and add corridor shortcut buttons.
- Door break button.
- Wall creation button.
Fractal Terrains differs from the other add-ons in that it
opens in its own window rather than appearing as a button
within the main program. Using Fractal Terrains you can
create an entire world with a single click. Conversely, you
can also customize features from display colors to altitude
and climate. You can even enter statistics and have it
generate a copy of the real world.
Also included in my review package was Symbol Set 1: Fantasy
Overland. The symbol set includes over 1000 symbols ranging
from intricate compass roses to the simplest line drawing
hut that can be included on any map created in CC2.
I.M.H.O.
First Impression: My first impression of CC2 was that it is
not like a drawing program at all. I have no background in
CAD so even the basic interface took some getting used to.
However, as it mentions in the user's guide, once I got used
to the command-select order and the complete lack of double-
clicking and dragging I found the interface to be very quick
and user-friendly. Make no mistake, the program has a steep
learning curve, but the end result is worth the effort.
The only problem I experienced with the program was that
while installing my copy I misread one of the instructions
and some of the program features weren't working properly. I
addressed the problem to ProFantasy's tech-support via email
and received an answer within an hour. The email included
several options to try and a direct link to the person who I
was dealing with. It took one more email to solve my problem
but it was an overall superior tech-support experience which
I felt was important for a program as complex as CC2.
A User's Guide is included for the core program and each of
the add-ons (excluding the symbol set). Each guide starts
with a simple mapping project to familiarize the user with
the basic features. While I did find some very minor
discrepancies between the book and the screen, the overall
walkthrough presentation was helpful and relatively
complete.
Campaign Cartographer 2 is certainly the best overall
mapping program I've seen. Starting with Fractal Terrains
you can create an entire planet, then import it to CC2 and
add cities and other details. Next you can map out the
cities themselves with CD2, then zoom in further and use DD2
to detail the interior of each individual building. The
ability to generate maps of every level of your campaign and
integrate them flawlessly is a huge boon to any world
builder. The only reason CC2 failed to score a perfect 5 is
that its price puts it out of reach for many gamers.
In My Humble Opinion, Campaign Cartographer is an expensive
package with a steep learning curve, but the enormous power
of the software makes it worth every penny.
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7. Paper Figs
> MicroTactix. Maker of printable card models, miniatures
and accessories.
http://www.microtactix.com/
> WorldWorks Games. Maker of printable card models and
accessories.
http://www.worldworksgames.com
> Sparks: Paper Miniatures as a TrueType Font. Fonts for
printing sheets of paper figures.
http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/sparks.htm
> Brabantini Yahoo! Group. Discussion group for all things
card miniatures and gaming. Includes links to many sites and
sources of models and miniatures. User contributed
miniatures and models. Home of the Miniatures in Paper
Showcase.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brabantini
> PaperWorlds.com. Site devoted to printable paper modeling.
Hosts forums for discussion of paper modeling from
construction to design; files areas containing user
contributions and Miniatures in Paper Showcase archive;
links to other online sources of models, miniatures,
software and tips for all things paper modeling.
http://www.paperworlds.com
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End Of Document
I hope this document has helped you find a binder-full of
freebie maps for your sessions.
Have more fun at every game!
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
End of Supplemental #12
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