Whether you’re designing your first indie RPG supplement or publishing your tenth adventure module, great RPG maps can make or break the reader’s experience. A well-designed overland map, dungeon, or starship floorplan provide directions and it immerses both players and readers into your world.
But if you’re planning to sell your product, there’s a catch: many popular mapping tools are only licensed for personal use. That means even if you create a stunning RPG map, you might not be legally allowed to publish it in your PDF, VTT module, or printed book.
This guide solves that problem.
We’ve rounded up the best commercial-use-friendly mapping tools for TTRPG creators, from drag-and-drop battlemap builders to world-class overland cartography software. You can pair these with free public domain and CC0 art resources. No matter if your campaign is fantasy or sci-fi, 2D or 3D, online or print, these tools will help you build and publish maps without legal headaches.
What to Look for in a RPG Map Tool
Before diving into the list, consider the following when evaluating a mapping tool:
- Map Types: Do you need overland maps, regional maps, dungeons, interiors, starship layouts, hex crawls, or point-crawl schematics?
- Output Formats: Make sure your tool supports high-resolution exports for print, optimized assets for VTT platforms like Foundry or Roll20, or simple web use.
- Built-In vs. Custom Assets: Some tools offer rich libraries of fantasy and sci-fi objects; others allow you to import your own or buy third-party packs.
- Ease of Use: Are you a first-time designer or a seasoned cartographer? Pick tools that match your workflow.
- Licensing: Most importantly, ensure the license explicitly allows commercial use. This is required if you’re publishing, selling, or distributing your RPG maps.
All-in-One Mapping Suites
Arkenforge Master’s Toolkit
Genre: Fantasy + Sci-Fi (sold separately)
Best For: Encounter maps and immersive VTTs
Commercial Use: Allowed with attribution
One-time Purchase
A desktop powerhouse for fantasy and sci-fi map creation, Arkenforge offers dedicated asset packs for each genre. It’s great for encounter maps and comes with real-time lighting, audio, and export-ready tools. You’ll need to credit Arkenforge in your publication, but otherwise you’re good to go commercially.
Campaign Cartographer 3 + Cosmographer 3
Genre: Multi-genre (with add-ons)
Best For: Publisher-grade overland maps, cities, and ship deckplans
Commercial Use: Fully allowed
One-time Purchase
This CAD-style program is widely used by professional TTRPG publishers. It’s complex but powerful, and with the Cosmographer add-on, it’s one of the few tools capable of producing high-quality sci-fi starship layouts.
Battlemap and Encounter Map Builders
DungeonFog
Genre: Multi-genre
Best For: Interiors and battlemaps (fantasy/sci-fi/cyberpunk)
Commercial Use: Requires commercial license
Subscription or Publisher License
DungeonFog is browser-based and packed with genre-spanning assets. Its layout tools are intuitive, and it supports commercial publishing with the right license tier. Great for designers who need fast, detailed room and ship layouts.
Dungeondraft
Genre: Fantasy (sci-fi via asset packs)
Best For: Quick, polished battlemap creation
Commercial Use: Fully allowed
One-time Purchase
With user-made sci-fi asset packs and built-in lighting, Dungeondraft is a favourite for creating tactical battlemaps. The interface is fast and easy to learn. Just verify third-party assets before commercial use.
MapForge
Genre: Tile-based, modular assets
Best For: Tiled sci-fi and fantasy battlemaps
Commercial Use: Allowed for supported asset packs
One-time Purchase + Add-Ons
MapForge uses tile-based add-ons to build battlemaps. Several sci-fi packs are explicitly licensed for commercial use. You’ll want to vet each content pack, but the software itself permits publishing.
Inkarnate Pro
Genre: Primarily fantasy
Best For: Stylized regional and encounter maps
Commercial Use: Allowed with Pro subscription
$25/year or $5/month
Inkarnate is easy to use and has a large fantasy asset library. While not sci-fi by default, custom stamps can be imported. You must upgrade to Pro for commercial publishing rights.
Chronos Builder
Genre: Fantasy + Sci-Fi
Best For: Immersive 3D battlemaps
Commercial Use: Allowed
One-time Purchase
Chronos lets you build rich 3D interiors for starships or fantasy dungeons. You can export top-down images for VTT or use angled snapshots for player handouts.
World and Overland RPG Map Creators
Wonderdraft
Genre: Fantasy
Best For: Beautiful regional or world maps
Commercial Use: Allowed
One-time Purchase
A top choice for fantasy cartographers, Wonderdraft exports print-ready maps with custom terrain brushes, symbol packs, and labelling options. Excellent for worldbuilding and campaign settings.
Worldographer
Genre: Fantasy, old-school hex/point crawl
Best For: Hex maps, procedural world generation
Commercial Use: Allowed with attribution
Free version or Pro license (~$70)
From the creators of Hexographer, this tool is built for OSR-style hex crawls. It lets you build a world, zoom into regions, then drill into dungeons, all with consistent styling.
Minimalist and Free RPG Map Tools
RPG Map Editor 2
Style: Pixel art, grid-based
Commercial Use: Allowed
Free or Pay-What-You-Want
A fast and flexible grid tool that exports clean, low-fi maps. Especially great for dungeon and interior schematics with retro flair.
Dungeon Scrawl
Style: Black-and-white, blueprint
Commercial Use: Allowed (avoid 2-Minute Tabletop assets)
Free or Optional Patreon
Perfect for hand-drawn dungeon layouts and point-crawls. Works in browser and exports to high-res images.
Illwinter’s Floorplan Generator
Style: Tile-based, schematic
Commercial Use: Allowed
$5 on Steam
Cheap, fast, and moddable. Great for basic layouts or quick drafts.
Dave’s Mapper
Style: Tile geomorph generator
Commercial Use: Unclear (depends on artist tiles used)
Free
Fun for inspiration or personal use. Some tiles may not be licensed for commercial distribution, so you must verify before publishing.
DIY Workflows for RPG Maps
Want to build RPG maps from scratch? Pair tools like Photoshop, GIMP, or Inkscape with commercial asset packs to design fully custom maps. Make sure the assets you use (tokens, textures, fonts) are licensed for commercial use, especially if sourced from marketplaces or creators.
Choosing the Right Tool
Great RPG maps sell your worlds, and the right tools let you publish them legally and confidently.
- Beginners may want to start with tools like Inkarnate, Dungeondraft, or Dungeon Scrawl
- Intermediate users might mix Dungeondraft with Photoshop or Wonderdraft with Illustrator
- For publisher-grade RPG maps, look at Campaign Cartographer or Arkenforge
Always confirm third-party asset licenses before publishing, even when using commercial-use tools.
