When you think about it, town maps (cities, villages, etc.) occupy an interesting middle ground in D&D and other tabletop RPGs. They’re often bigger than battlemaps, but more intimate than world maps. Players spend a lot of time in town maps talking to NPCs, exploring, and shopping for supplies. Big plot moments often occur in towns, so, naturally, you want your town map to be memorable!
Since the launch of Dungeon Scrawl, we’ve engaged with tons of users who are making all kinds of maps for their campaigns. In the process, we’ve noticed certain patterns that distinguish the forgettable villages from those that players keep coming back to.
Let's discuss what makes a good town map and how to avoid common pitfalls.
Start With Geography and Purpose
Remember, towns don't appear randomly in the middle of nowhere. (Unless, for the sake of your game, they do.) In most cases, they exist for a reason, and that’s usually dictated by geography. When you start building a town map, consider natural features first.
Natural Features
Unless your world has strange natural properties, try to stick to common sense when it comes to geography. Rivers provide water and trade routes. Coastlines offer fishing and harbours for ships. Hills offer defence, and forests supply timber. Naturally, a town will spring up somewhere around or between those resources.
In Dungeon Scrawl, we often advise sketching out your terrain before placing any buildings. You can actually do this pretty simply by using the wall tool to draw a coastline or riverbank. You can do the same to mark where the forest begins. Dungeon Scrawl Pro’s new World Building Presets allow users to easily build natural features such as trees and bodies of water into maps, speeding up the process and visuals of incorporating natural features for subscribers.
What’s Your Town’s Purpose?
When you think about it, most towns almost act as an NPC themselves. So it will need a purpose for its existence in the game. Is this a fishing village? A mining outpost? A farming community? A trade crossroads? The town's primary industry shapes everything else, and it typically determines where you place it in relation to the geography.
This purpose informs which buildings you include. A fishing village needs a market to sell the catch, maybe a smokehouse, and probably boat repair facilities. A mining town needs a smelter, storage for equipment, and probably a company office.
Roads Follow Logic, Not Grids
One of the biggest mistakes we see users make when they are building out their town maps is creating roads in straight-line grid patterns. While that might be the easiest way to do it, you’ll quickly see that it doesn’t make sense when it comes to purpose and story.
Most towns will grow organically, so start there. Where was the first road laid? Likely near the entrance, leading to the first building. The second was probably built along the road or nearby, and so on and so forth. That path will naturally have side paths that branch off as space becomes necessary. Over time, you’ll build out a network of roads that curve and wind as they’re placed.
Speaking of your main road, think of “Main Street” as you build. Your primary road will likely link the town's primary points of interest. In a typical fantasy town, this means connecting the main gate to the market square, the lord's manor, the temple, and maybe the docks (if you’re coastal). You’ll then use secondary roads to branch off to residential areas and less critical locations.
As you build, go with the geography and think like the city planner (or villager). Would you build a road through a river? No, you’d likely build around it unless you had the money for a bridge. You’d also avoid swamps and bogs (no monsters, thank you very much!)
In Dungeon Scrawl, use the Path tool to draw roads, but add kinks and curves. Don't be afraid to make them irregular. Subscribers can use the Road World Building Preset for a more stylized (and customizable) option.
Layer Your Town Outward
Here’s a fun tip: if you want to make sure your town makes sense, think from the middle and move out. Most towns have a centre point and expand outward from there.
- Identify the centerpiece: What was here first? Often it's a castle, temple, trading post, or dock. This becomes the oldest, most established part of town.
- Important buildings cluster near the center: The market square, the wealthy merchant's house, and the well-established inn; these are the spots closest to the action of the story. So make sure they’re accessible and visible. In Dungeon Scrawl, place your largest buildings first, near your centerpiece, then build outward.
- Residential areas spread to the edges: People live where land is cheaper and quieter. Houses get smaller as you move from the centre. The newest, poorest housing sits on the town's outskirts, but so do wealthy estates (though they’re often larger with plenty of space around them!)
- Industrial areas have their own logic: Smelly or noisy industries (tanneries, smithies, slaughterhouses) sit downwind or away from wealthy areas. Think logically about where things are located.
Remember, Not Every Building Needs Detail
Here’s where too many fantasy map makers get bogged down. Dungeon Scrawl was designed to help you create maps creatively and fast, so stick to the details where they matter for the story.
As you build, focus on points of interest such as the inn, blacksmith, or temple. These are the spots that need the most detail on your maps and your notes. Once you cover the key spots, simply “suggest” the rest. Use simple shapes to indicate housing districts, such as a small rectangle that says "residential area".
Players understand that people live there, but they don't need the floor plan of Farmer Jenkins' house (unless the plot takes a turn down that lane). In Dungeon Scrawl, you can quickly block out a residential district by drawing a dozen small rectangles in a cluster. It takes 30 seconds and establishes that this is where townsfolk live. Should you want to add it in later, you can always go back to your map and add that detail.
Pro tip: Leave space for improvisation! Don’t be afraid of blank areas on your town map. You can use these as opportunities throughout the campaign. For example, a blank spot is a great opportunity for players to seek out a cartographer or explorer to venture into the fog of war and find out what's there.
Show History and Character, But Keep It Functional
Some of our favorite town maps are the ones that tell a story of the town’s past and present. Include variety in the building sizes, and add in defensive features where appropriate. If the town has been besieged in the past, add spots where homes have been rebuilt or defensive turrets are still standing.
In Dungeon Scrawl, you can use the erase tool (press E) to create gaps in walls or "damage" buildings. Add some rubble using images from the asset library, an easy way to add character.All that said, don’t lose the map’s functionality for the sake of detail. Add clear labels to all important places (you can use the text tool to add names/details) and always remember to consider the scale as you lay out your town map.
Most importantly, think of your VTT. If you're playing online, your map needs to import cleanly. Dungeon Scrawl exports with grid dimensions in the filename (like "town-45x30.png"), making it easy to size correctly in Roll20 or Foundry.
Start Building Your Favorite Town on Dungeon Scrawl Now!
The best tip we have for creating a great town map? Just start building! Start with the basic layout first. Add your main road, some buildings, and labels. Get the bones right before you add details. As the town becomes more important to your campaign, you can flesh it out between sessions.
Remember: your town map doesn't need to be perfect on day one. It needs to be good enough to use, with room to become better as your story develops. So hop on Dungeon Scrawl today and start building your next great town!
While you’re at it, if you create a particularly great town, share it with us on our Discord server. We’d love to see it!