Five D&D map making programs you've (probably) never tried

Improved Initiative makes running combat so much easier!
improvedinitiative.app/powerw...
I tested out five MORE D&D/TTRPG map makers to find out how to make D&D battle maps super easily. I tested out Dungeon Scrawl, Talespire, Chronos Builder, Arkenforge, and Dragon Map Maker. I am always trying to reduce my DM prep time and make it easier on myself, so starting to make my own D&D 5e battle maps felt like it could be a step in the wrong direction. However, if I could produce maps that made me excited to show my D&D fifth edition players, without spending too much time, then I knew I'd stick with it. I can definitely see myself using at least two of these programs going forward!
Dungeon Scrawl:
www.dungeonscrawl.com/
Talespire:
talespire.com/
Chronos Builder:
chronosbuilder.com/
Arkenforge:
arkenforge.com/
Dragon Map Maker:
www.dragonmapmaker.com/
#00:00 some amazing maps
#01:44 Dungeon Scrawl
#04:24 Talespire
#09:29 Improved Initiative
#10:52 Chronos Builder
#14:51 Arkenforge
#19:16 Dragon Map Maker
#23:06 5 more map making programs!

Пікірлер: 70

  • @MorningShore
    @MorningShore5 ай бұрын

    I'd love a more in depth analysis of your favourite ones, or a comprehensive analysis after you've used them for a while :) Thanks for the great video!

  • @siliconstitches
    @siliconstitches2 ай бұрын

    😂

  • @Yenkieldemente
    @Yenkieldemente5 ай бұрын

    Dragon Map Maker looks awesome! I think that workflow will be intuitive to anyone who has played The Sims, and it produces gorgeous results. Definitely gonna keep an eye on it.

  • @jeffreyw901

    @jeffreyw901

    3 ай бұрын

    It definitely does look like the mapmaking version of the Sims, I love it

  • @WyvernBladeGames-iy3on

    @WyvernBladeGames-iy3on

    3 ай бұрын

    Agreed. Very Sims-like -- and building is the best part of Sims by far. That's all I do with it. Actually playing Sims is pretty boring (to me). Think I'll check DMM out. Also very intrigued by Dungeon Scrawl since OSR black-and-white dungeon maps are pretty much the best.

  • @jpizzleforizzle
    @jpizzleforizzle4 ай бұрын

    Dragon reminds me of using DoomCad to design Doom levels back in the late 90s. You design the structure then assign a texture or bitmap to each surface. I think this is overall better because you can reassign a texture or style to an individual piece without having to replace it.

  • @rpgslime6793
    @rpgslime67935 ай бұрын

    YO you were the one who introduced me to improved initiative! Congrats on getting sponsored by them.

  • @thecommenttater7026
    @thecommenttater70264 ай бұрын

    Dungeon Alchemist and DungeonDraft are my go to apps for map making

  • @ZsDante
    @ZsDante5 ай бұрын

    Thank you so much for giving Arkenforge a go! The quality of your videos is absolutely stunning!

  • @rhodrambles3943
    @rhodrambles39435 ай бұрын

    I always love to find out about more builders to try and keep an eye on. Hadn't heard of most of these so thanks for sharing and making this video.

  • @I3urnHard
    @I3urnHard5 ай бұрын

    Great overview of these tools. I will be checking some out. Keep up the great work.

  • @joerama
    @joerama2 ай бұрын

    Great series. TY for sharing!

  • @tj7451
    @tj74513 ай бұрын

    I like RPG Stories quite a bit (on Steam). It still has a way to go, but it's getting cooler and more in depth with every Update. Also the Discord is super friendly, helpful and fun!

  • @rane8432
    @rane84325 ай бұрын

    Once you get used to Talespire, it is super cool. The way that it is able to strip away blocks by layer when you zoom in, set up custscenes, and use lighting is truly brilliant. Also, mods are actually really easy to use with it as well.

  • @Taubrala

    @Taubrala

    4 ай бұрын

    the idear for that is great... but to be honest, i am always struggeling to blendout the correct layer, or to show the correct props... (I am the DM and we use to play face-to-face with one "presentation" screen... Talespire looks super cool but is not really useable for that)

  • @rane8432

    @rane8432

    4 ай бұрын

    @Taubrala i actually just did that last night, it worked great. I used the game's photo mode to display on a TV I laid on my table. Its more difficult than just a picture for sure, but in exchange you get things like animated torches, that painted miniature art style, and built in atmosphere tools.

  • @Taubrala

    @Taubrala

    4 ай бұрын

    @@rane8432 thx, then i will try it again. Its a longer time ago, that i tried it.

  • @rane8432

    @rane8432

    4 ай бұрын

    @Taubrala on my TV I was able to find a zoom level that made the tiles exactly 1 inch, and I just stuck with that.

  • @joachimjacobs8377
    @joachimjacobs83775 ай бұрын

    I used Dungeondraft for my VTT games, I like it quite a lot, even with just the default assets. But I'll probably branch out to extra assets once I get beter at using it

  • @the_alechemist7054
    @the_alechemist70545 ай бұрын

    The Dragon map maker assets look beautiful

  • @Juliostravellife
    @Juliostravellife5 ай бұрын

    I don't know where you came from in my feed but thanks for this. simple, great videos. You sir, have my subscription.

  • @VHSMikey
    @VHSMikey3 ай бұрын

    We are getting closer to the randomly generated DnD game I always dreamed of.

  • @RisunaFox
    @RisunaFox5 ай бұрын

    Subscribed for the content, sticking around for the moustache 👌

  • @Masked_Querainger
    @Masked_Querainger4 ай бұрын

    Thank you for this Work 🎉

  • @teddy_crazypanda1836
    @teddy_crazypanda18365 ай бұрын

    Hey there! Love your vids! If i may i have a request: what about an easy, fast and cheap way to have your maps while live playing? I used to be an online master, but now I am starting to play live and i find this pretty difficult.

  • @The_Rising_Ape
    @The_Rising_Ape5 ай бұрын

    Dragon Map Maker reminds me of the building system from The Sims.

  • @scotthuffman3462
    @scotthuffman34625 ай бұрын

    Talespire is so good I just wish I could convince my players to use it over Roll20 :(

  • @secretname2670
    @secretname26705 ай бұрын

    Terrific mustache!

  • @bethyjenkins
    @bethyjenkins5 ай бұрын

    I appreciate you too

  • @tomyoung9834
    @tomyoung98342 ай бұрын

    We use Talespire and really like it!

  • @thefucknoonegives3999
    @thefucknoonegives39995 ай бұрын

    Talespire gets faster the more you use it. You can save your slabs/use slabs from talestavern and once you have tons of prefab slabs, your prep time improve drastically

  • @thecandidman
    @thecandidmanАй бұрын

    Canvas of Kings is another you should check out!

  • @BolstersCatering
    @BolstersCatering5 ай бұрын

    Hello, your information is great and I am loving exploring making maps. You have mentioned in previous videos you have printed high level maps of the forgotten realms. Where are the getting the files? I’m looking at a forgotten realms map, as well as a couple old-school Raven loft maps

  • @powerwordspill

    @powerwordspill

    5 ай бұрын

    WOTC released the high res file for the sword coast a few years ago, but I don't think they released any others unfortunately. I got the file from the WOTC website

  • @bestneverknow
    @bestneverknow3 ай бұрын

    At 1:15 into the video you show a clip of a whole city map in 3d. What program was that!!??

  • @grumpyolegamer
    @grumpyolegamerАй бұрын

    I tend towards Inkarnate, Dungeon Alchemist, and Wonderdraft/Dungeondraft...

  • @AV-69
    @AV-693 ай бұрын

    Really wish hex map tools would catch up with battle maps, got any recommendations? (Other than worldographer)

  • @incontinentiabuttocks366
    @incontinentiabuttocks3665 ай бұрын

    GOOD SIR! You have an excellent moustache.

  • @jaysw9585
    @jaysw95853 ай бұрын

    Okay, Dungeon Scrawl is everything i have ever wanted. Just straight up drawing. No fancy crap, no complicated menus, no hyped-up graphics that never seem to fit, straight up theater of the mind stuff. Love it. Just made my sewer level for my Kids on Bikes game in about 2 minutes. Perfect. I can fill out the details with my DM brain.

  • @workingforgear
    @workingforgear5 ай бұрын

    I subbed based on your mustache alone. Don’t let it down. Hahah JK great video!

  • @CringeCrab
    @CringeCrab5 ай бұрын

    just from listening how dragon map maker works make me think of the sims :D

  • @brianjenner8085
    @brianjenner8085Ай бұрын

    which map maker are printable for those of us that dont play online or on screan

  • @kendallpeterson525
    @kendallpeterson5252 ай бұрын

    What is the map maker that's displayed during the intro at 1:17?

  • @Jeffs40K
    @Jeffs40K5 ай бұрын

    DUNGEON ALCHEMIST on steam, easy easy Map making

  • @VolkStaal
    @VolkStaal5 ай бұрын

    You can try "Dungeon Alchemist" too.

  • @darthemphatic4654
    @darthemphatic46545 ай бұрын

    Dynamic dungeon is another one you could test. A lot of assets are behind the patreon wall. As a pivot, top 5 VTT with a 10 minute setup challenge (map load, layer effects, fog of war setup, etc.) would be intereting.

  • @powerwordspill

    @powerwordspill

    5 ай бұрын

    That's on my to do list for sure! There's a lot out there so I think it'll be a multi part thing

  • @darthemphatic4654

    @darthemphatic4654

    5 ай бұрын

    ❤️

  • @krakenunbound
    @krakenunbound29 күн бұрын

    I really want to like Dungeon Alchemist but not having round buildings and the ability to rotate buildings really messes with me. I've been trying out Dungeondraft and I like it a lot BUT their export stuff for VTT's doesn't natively work with FGU or FVTT. You need 3rd party apps to do the conversion. I hear there is now a big delay in the release of the next version of DA which promised the features I needed. So I am going to stick with dungeondraft for now.

  • @OpenWorldAddict0
    @OpenWorldAddict05 ай бұрын

    what about Dungeon Fog and Dungeon Alchemist?

  • @powerwordspill

    @powerwordspill

    5 ай бұрын

    They were in part one of my maps video!

  • @yamueljackson
    @yamueljackson5 ай бұрын

    I keep thinking this is Patrick from Funhaus.

  • @ianshaliczer
    @ianshaliczer2 ай бұрын

    Does anyone know if there’s an idiot-proof way to display Tale Spire maps on a television?

  • @crapphone7744

    @crapphone7744

    8 күн бұрын

    First let me admit I'm a boomer, then I'm just going to say which is not helpful, I don't know of any reliable way to display anything on a TV from any computer, because, well, random glitches and updates....

  • @KnightEnjoyer69
    @KnightEnjoyer695 ай бұрын

    I mostly use dungeon alchemist.

  • @ourochroma
    @ourochroma5 ай бұрын

    I've gotten my eye on a 3d software called Crocotile3d and I'm saddened that it is only a modeling tool and not a map VTT. Please help!

  • @cellphone7223
    @cellphone72235 ай бұрын

    Dungeon Alchemist imo is better than all of these.

  • @powerwordspill

    @powerwordspill

    5 ай бұрын

    If you play medieval fantasy then I think I'd have to agree! Although I really like the look of the maps from dragon map marker, and they print really nicely

  • @cellphone7223

    @cellphone7223

    5 ай бұрын

    @@powerwordspill Great Points. I keep forgetting about our modern/sc-fi players/gamers. The irony is, i'm even switching from many decades of GM'n fantasy to modern/sc-fi. 404 brain not found. 😂

  • @NotKyleChicago

    @NotKyleChicago

    3 ай бұрын

    He talked about that tool in another video.

  • @jacksonreasoner1408

    @jacksonreasoner1408

    25 күн бұрын

    I used dungeon alchemist to run a mini campaign and felt super restrained, I’ve switched to using inkarnate and much prefer it. I’m sure it’s subjective, but I wouldn’t recommend DA to anyone

  • @rsm8877
    @rsm88775 ай бұрын

    The videos are awesome, content and production. The only thing that bothers me is this habit of making the voice hoarser at the end of sentences. I'm going to have to wait for this trend to pass before I start consuming USA's media again.

  • @maxmarowski
    @maxmarowskiАй бұрын

    Stop using notification sounds.... It does not add anything positiv to the video

  • @escoson555
    @escoson55513 күн бұрын

    Why dont you try to build the same type of setting for each different program? That way you can show people the real difference between them. Decent vid but kind useless...