A great thing about Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition and all role playing games in general is that you need very little to play them. A character sheet, pencil and rubber and some dice could be enough. The rest could be played in what is know as the theatre of the mind. But that being said, very few things enhance a DnD game like a D&D map. So let’s find out all about maps and map makers for your Dungeons & Dragons games.

Types of maps in Dungeons & Dragons

The first question you may have regarding maps in D&D is how many types of Dungeons and Dragons maps are there and what are they for? The answer to this question is that there are essentially two, I would say:

Location, region or world maps in Dungeons & Dragons

These Dungeons & Dragons maps are meant to show the players what the world they live in looks like. It could be map of the whole country or continent they live in, or it could be as small as a town map, showing the different spot the players could explore.

A good way to incorporate these maps in a Dungeons & Dragons 5e game is for the Game Master to wait until the party acquires a map in game. It could be at a merchant’s or found while looting a dead body. It could also be left in a dungeon they are exploring.

Then, as the party is made aware of the findings, you could provide a paper with an actual physical version of the map, or if you want to use technology, you could share the map as an image in the Discord or facebook group chat for the campaign.

Battle maps in Dungeons & Dragons

The second, and for a lot of people the coolest, type of map in Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition is what is know as a combat or battle map. A battle maps is intended to give the players and Dungeon Master a more clear representation of combat and the combat rounds.

The map can be any location: a dungeon, a castle, a forest, a dessert, but all of them will usually have one thing in common, they will have a grid of squares representing 5 by 5 feet of terrain each.

This is used in order to understand and represent movement of both the characters and the monsters or NPCs they may be fighting. Here is where the shiny Dungeons & Dragons miniatures you may have gotten yourself will come very handy!

Using the imagination is a great part of Dungeons & Dragons, but with something as intricate as combat, some visual aid goes a long way!

Do you need maps for D&D?

Does D&D have a board?

Where do I get DND maps?

Make your own, use a map maker o buy a ready made one

How can I create a map?

How do I make a D&D map on my own?

How can I draw my own map?

How do I make a realistic fantasy map?

How do you make a city map?

How do I make a city map in Photoshop?

Using a map maker for your DND

What is the best fantasy map maker?

Can you make maps in roll20?

Can you print roll20 maps?

Where do I buy made DND maps?

How do you make a good RPG map?

How do you make a city map in D&D?