Thursday, September 10, 2020

Random Map Generation with dice

 

Even I have to admit the system I tried earlier was.... tedious, non-inspiring, and ill conceived. However upon discovering a system much superior to my previous attempt, I adapted that to suit my taste.


For this you will need a number of D20s and D10s. The number of dice you use can be as random as grabbing a handful or determined by desired density and map size. For a sheet of paper 11"x17" using 20 D20s will give you a nice regional size map. If you want a larger scale map, add more dice. The reverse is like applying a zoom lens to a camera. Subtracting dice gives you a smaller region.

By now you have noticed the 2 blank D20s. Those are wildcards. They are there to give me options. They can be anything.

The D10s are used to determine populations. They are two different colors in case I want to get different races.

 

The Dice Keys:

 

Terrain

1 -Arctic
2- Tundra
3- Scrub Forest  
4- Conifer/Evergreen Forest  
5- Boreal Forest 
6- Mixed Forest  
7- Broadleaf/Deciduous Forest 
8- Grasslands  
9- Plains  
10- Prairie 
11- Marsh 
12- Swamp 
13- Wetland Forest  
14- Tropical Forest 
15- Jungle 
16- Savanna  
17- Desert 
18- Rift/Crevasse or River 
19- Sink Hole or Lake  
20- Hills or Mountains or Ocean
 
Population
1- Ruins
2- Thorpe
3- Hamlet
4- Village
5- Town
6- City
7- Keep
8- Freehold
9- Fortress/Metropolis
10- Mystery
 
As for the actual process, I can only tell you how I do it. I create a story while drawing the map. The map in this post was the direct result of needing a place for a Ancient Green Dragon. 

A little imagination with the right inspiration can get you some pretty interesting maps.
There are more than enough videos on youtube. Just do a search for "dice maps".

1 comment:

  1. Random map generation is something I am pondering myself, so it's always interesting to see other people's ideas. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete