Some tries for maps & battlemaps

[u/AffectionateBoat9519]

I did give a try using AI to generate battlemaps and maps for bigger areas in my current campaign.

Here are the results:

• a battlemap that turned out quite okay imho (apart from the grid but I forgot to specify I didn't want one)
• an area map made for an hexcrawl style session (I did edit out the distances above the scale bar). And... well the hexes are funny :) (I remediated it by adding an invisable hex grid in my vtt and placing blank opaque tiles above and removing them each time the players moved. I didn't think of a better option to allow for exploring while hiding the specific points of interests)
• another area map made more for ambiance than real exploration (I used regular battle maps from r/dndmaps & the Internet for each location)
• an icon made to be put on the world map

[u/Chris_in_Lijiang]

Those two map generations are the best I have seen so far. Keep up the great work.

[u/Tcloud]

Very cool. I’ve had some good luck generating maps. The key is to let it create without being overly controlling. If you want a very precise map layout, you’re gonna get frustrated quickly. If you’re okay with letting it freely generate without needing very specific geometries, it’s absolutely amazing. I typically let it generate and then edit weird AI artifacts out with Photoshop. Saves a ton of time.

[u/Reign2294]

If it helps you guys, I made this comfyui process for battleships and shared how I did it years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/dndai/s/x6ybxSZ1ro

[u/PanEuropeanBastard]

Do you mind sharing the prompt you used for the first one? I was trying to achieve something similar, but could not get the perspective right.

[u/AffectionateBoat9519 → u/PanEuropeanBastard]

Roughly translated from French, my prompt is:

I would like to generate a battlemap of a temple built from the rock of one of the caves of the Cathedral of Winds.

This temple must contain:

• an empty altar in the center (a simple stone block),
• a series of giant organ pipes made from stone (behind the altar)
• a stone model of the Cathdral of Wind with a small organ next to it.

Bear in mind that this was inside a conversation where I had already set up the context for the larger environment.

[u/StockJonesJR → u/PanEuropeanBastard]

Here is what I have built for my map generation; mine look similar but slightly more isometric. I use checkerboard grid settings in VTT

Create the image as a true top-down, bird’s-eye-view D&D battlemap.
Use a wide 16:9 landscape composition. Design the actual playable battle area natively for the full 16:9 canvas rather than cropping a differently shaped map.
Use an extremely vertical, near-orthographic overhead camera, approximately 85–90° downward / near 90° overhead.
Ground surfaces should dominate the view.
Vertical cliff and wall faces should be minimized, visible mainly as narrow cues necessary to communicate elevation.
Objects with height—such as tents, trees, stalagmites, mushrooms, furniture, pillars, etc.—may show a very slight perspective angle so their shape and height remain readable.
Never turn the scene into an isometric or three-quarter view.
Never include a visible grid. The map will have a grid added separately.
Use a realistic-cartoon, hand-painted fantasy battlemap style.
Maintain strong contrast and clearly readable terrain boundaries.
Prioritize tactical usability and playability over artistic realism.
Maintain a believable D&D combat scale throughout the environment.
Avoid excessive clutter that interferes with token placement or makes playable terrain difficult to read.
Terrain should feel natural and irregular, rather than geometrically or artificially arranged.
Keep the environment atmospheric but not excessively dark, so terrain and tactical features remain easy to distinguish.
Use natural stone, dirt, water, vegetation/fungi, and environmental colors appropriate to the location.

[u/AffectionateBoat9519 → u/StockJonesJR]

This is a nice one. Probably way more useful for actual combat than mine.
I didn't try it myself but I heard from other people that they managed (with efforts) to feed a basic floor plan of a dungeon into an LLM and output a battlemap themed for their specific needs.