Mapmaking Guides & Articles
Tutorials, stencil workflows, and tips to draw crisp encounter maps fast.
Inn Rooms & Back Areas: Storage, Office, Cellar, and Staff Spaces
Stencil-first inn maps that do more than fill space: back rooms with clues, storage with loot, and cellars that become instant encounters. Includes a ready-to-run cellar encounter layout using barrels, crates, and torch cues.
Outdoor Encounter Maps: Camps, Firelight, and Readable Terrain
Draw outdoor camp encounters that run fast: clear terrain zones, readable firelight cues, and prop clusters that create cover and ambush angles. Includes 3 drop-in camps: bandit, pilgrim, and witch (with cauldron).
Props That Tell a Story: Tankards, Flasks, Cauldrons, and the Hearth
Use a few high-signal stencils—tankards, flasks, cauldrons, hearth fire, and torches—to communicate mood and story instantly without cluttering your battle map. Includes themed tavern variants you can reskin in minutes.
Roadside & Crossroads Maps: Signposts, Loot, and Natural Chokepoints
Build travel encounter maps that run fast: a clear crossroads, a signpost objective, and just enough loot/cover to create choices. Includes 3 drop-in crossroads scenes: safe, suspicious, and deadly.
Rogue Hideout Under the City: Rooms, Stashes, and Secret Vibes
A stencil-first guide to building undercity hideouts that feel lived-in and playable: wood/stone walls, small doors, crates/chests/bags, and torch cues. Includes contraband and stash room patterns you can reuse.