User guide
How Dungeon Map Generator Works
Create a playable fantasy location in your browser, adjust the layout, and export it for your table. This guide explains every main control and what to expect from seeds, edits, share links, and downloads.
Start with the map already shown on the homepage, then change one setting at a time.
Create your first map
- Choose a map type. Dungeon is a balanced starting point. Cave, castle, crypt, sewer, temple, tavern, ruins, mine, and wizard tower adjust the location's character. Random is available when you want a surprise.
- Set a practical size. Small is about 20 × 20 cells, medium 40 × 40, large 60 × 60, and huge 80 × 80. Start with medium if you are unsure.
- Choose how many rooms you need. The room slider requests 5–50 rooms. On a small map, physical space can limit how many non-overlapping rooms fit.
- Press Generate Map. The map appears immediately. Change settings and press the button again to build from those settings.
- Review and export. Zoom into doors and passages, make any quick edits, then download a PNG or use the other export options.
The page opens with an example map, so you can also download one immediately. No account, payment, or outside AI service is required.
Understand the settings
| Control | What it changes | Practical tip |
|---|---|---|
| Map type | Chooses the location preset used during generation. | Use the type closest to your scene, then adjust the other controls. |
| Map size | Sets the grid dimensions. | Large maps need more screen space and create bigger export files. |
| Room count and size | Requests a number of chambers and a small, mixed, or large size range. | Choose enough rooms for meaningful scenes rather than filling every cell. |
| Density | Influences how many extra connections may be added. | Higher density is useful for a maze-like site; lower density keeps routes simpler. |
| Corridor style | Selects straight, organic, or mixed passage behavior. | Try straight for constructed sites and organic for caves or mines. |
| Room shape | Selects rectangular, irregular, or mixed edges. | Irregular edges help natural locations feel less engineered. |
| Loops | Adds optional connections between room areas. | Turn this on when you want alternate routes and less backtracking. |
| Secrets, traps, treasure, encounters, doors | Places optional map features. | Toggle them before generating. You can remove or add symbols later with the editor. |
| Grid and room numbers | Controls what is drawn over the map. | Changing these display options does not rebuild the layout. |
| Seed | Names the repeatable random sequence for the layout. | Save the seed together with the settings or copy the share link. |
For a fast setup, choose a Quick preset. Presets set several controls at once, after which you can fine-tune the result. The “Describe your dungeon” field is an experimental local text parser: a phrase such as “large crypt with traps and secrets” changes recognized settings. Review the interpreted settings before generating.
How the map is generated
Generation happens in your browser. A seeded pseudo-random generator uses the seed and layout settings to make repeatable choices. The engine places candidate rooms, rejects excessive overlap, connects the accepted rooms with a minimum spanning tree, and carves corridors. If loops are enabled, it may add further connections. It then places optional doors and map features.
After construction, a breadth-first search checks whether the important rooms and exit are reachable from the entrance. If a layout fails that check, the engine retries. The result is structured map data rather than a flat picture: it stores cells, rooms, corridors, doors, symbols, entrance, exit, and settings.
Generate Map uses the seed currently shown. With identical layout settings, it reproduces the same generated geometry. New Seed creates a fresh seed and a different layout. The map name is a label for your export and is separate from the floor-plan geometry. Press G to generate while focus is outside an input or text field.
Navigate and edit a map
Scroll over the canvas to zoom. Use the plus and minus buttons for smaller steps, Fit to show the whole layout, Center to recenter it, and Fullscreen for a larger working view. With the Select tool active, drag the canvas to pan.
The editing tools let you paint room floor or corridor cells, erase a cell, and place doors, secret doors, traps, treasure, encounters, an entrance, or an exit. Choose a tool and click a cell. Room, Corridor, and Erase can be dragged across multiple cells. Undo and Redo let you step through recent changes. This is a lightweight correction tool; it does not replace a full illustration editor.
Choose Classic, Parchment, Blueprint, Dark Dungeon, or Printer Friendly under Visual style. This changes the drawing, not the underlying generated map. The site-wide Light/Dark button changes the website interface separately from the map's visual style. Grid, room numbers, and symbol visibility are also display controls.
Download or print your map
PNG is the general-purpose choice for a handout or virtual tabletop image. Choose 1×, 2×, or 4× scale before downloading. You can set whether the export includes grid lines, room numbers, and icons. Transparent background is available for PNG where supported. JPG and WebP provide additional raster formats; JPG uses a solid background.
SVG is a vector export that remains sharp when scaled. JSON contains the structured map data and settings. Print Map prepares a printer-friendly image with the navigation and editing panels hidden. Review a print preview at the intended paper size, especially when using a large or huge map.
Export uses the map currently displayed, including quick edits. Download important work before leaving the page, because manual edits are not yet saved as a persistent project.
Frequently asked questions
Is the map generator free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it is free to use and no account is required. Generate, edit, download, and print directly from the browser.
Why does Generate Map show the same layout?
It is designed to reproduce the layout when the seed and layout settings have not changed. Use New Seed for a different random layout, or adjust room count, size, corridor style, or other generation settings.
Does a share link save my manual edits?
No. A share link saves the seed and generator settings. Export PNG, SVG, or JSON after editing to preserve the edited map.
Can I print without the dark website background?
Yes. Print Map creates a printer-friendly map and hides navigation and editing panels. You can also choose the Printer Friendly visual style before downloading.
Can I hide the grid or room numbers?
Yes. Use the Grid and Numbers controls for the canvas. Separate export checkboxes let you include or omit them in a downloaded file.
What is the difference between site Light/Dark mode and map style?
Light/Dark changes the website controls and page colors. Visual style changes the map's colors. You can use a light website with a dark map, or the reverse.
Why are there fewer rooms than I requested?
Rooms cannot overlap excessively or cross the map boundary. A small map may not fit a high room count. Choose a larger map, smaller rooms, or a lower room target.
Are every room and the exit reachable?
The generator checks reachability from the entrance after building the layout and retries invalid drafts. Manual edits can change connectivity, so review routes again after erasing cells.
Does the tool work on mobile?
Yes. Settings and tools open as panels on narrow screens. For detailed editing or a huge map, a larger screen may be more comfortable.
Can I use the generated map in a tabletop campaign?
Yes. The original procedural geometry can be used for personal or commercial tabletop projects. Review the Terms of Use for details about third-party material you may add yourself.
Does it create full city, continent, or world maps?
No. The current generator is designed for local dungeon and battle layouts. Its fantasy map page uses the same location-scale engine, not a world geography engine.
What if an export does not download?
Check whether your browser blocked a download, try PNG at 1× or 2×, and avoid extremely large exports on a memory-limited device. If it still fails, send the seed, settings, browser name, and a short description to [email protected].
Start with the example, change a setting, and download a version for your session.