donjon alternatives for illustrated battle maps
donjon is one of the oldest free generators for tabletop RPGs. It builds random dungeons, caverns, encounters and treasure tables for several rulesets, including 5e and Pathfinder, and it has done so for free, without an account, for years. The dungeon maps it draws are schematic: clean grid-based line art that shows where the walls and doors are.
Where donjon is the better choice
For planning, donjon is hard to beat. It is free, instant and needs no account, and it stocks the rooms it draws with monsters, traps and treasure for the ruleset you pick, which no image generator does. Its maps also export as JSON, and there is a Foundry VTT module that turns that JSON into walls. If you want a whole random dungeon keyed and ready to run in a minute, and your players are happy with a line drawing, donjon is the right tool.
Why people look for an alternative
The usual reason is the look. A donjon map is a floor plan, not a scene, and many groups want the battle map on the table to show the mossy flagstones, the collapsed pillar and the glowing pool rather than a set of squares. The other reason is scope: donjon draws dungeons and caverns, so a forest ambush, a tavern brawl or a ship deck needs something else.
donjon and Text to Tabletop side by side
| donjon | Text to Tabletop | |
|---|---|---|
| What it makes | Random dungeons and caverns, plus encounter, treasure and NPC generators. | Top-down battle maps generated by AI from a text description. |
| Map style | Schematic grid-based line art. | Fully illustrated, painted-style scenes at battle-map scale. |
| Free tier | Everything is free, with no account. | 3 free tokens at signup, enough for three maps or one at 4K. No credit card. |
| Paid plans | None. | A one-time $1 trial pack, token packs from $2, or $10 a month. Tokens never expire. |
| Grid and VTT export | On a grid. PNG, print, PDF, HTML and JSON export, and a community Foundry module can build walls from the JSON. | Grid-aligned at 1K, 2K or 4K. PNG, plus .dd2vtt for Foundry VTT and other Universal VTT importers. |
| Changing a map | Change the settings and generate a new random layout. | Select any area and regenerate only that part. |
| Commercial use | We could not find a stated policy. Check the site before using maps in a product. | Included for every map, including maps made with the free tokens. |
donjon details checked September 2026. Prices and plans change, so confirm on their site before you buy.
What Text to Tabletop does differently
- You describe the scene and get an illustrated map of it, not a random layout: "a flooded crypt with a collapsed stair and three sarcophagi" comes back as that.
- Any setting, not just dungeons. Forests, taverns, ships, city streets and caves all work from the same box.
- If one corner is wrong, select it and regenerate only that area rather than rolling a whole new map.
- Commercial use is included, so a map you make can go into an adventure you sell.
Questions people ask
Is donjon free?
Yes. donjon has been free to use without an account for as long as it has existed. That is its biggest strength, and nothing here tries to argue otherwise.
Can I use donjon and an AI map generator together?
Yes, and it works well. Use donjon to roll the dungeon and its contents, then describe the key rooms to an AI generator to get an illustrated battle map for the fights that matter.
Does Text to Tabletop make random dungeons?
No. It makes the map you describe, one scene at a time. If you want a random layout, donjon or Watabou will give you one faster.
Try it on your next encounter
Describe the scene and get a grid-aligned battle map back. New accounts get 3 free maps with no credit card, and every map is yours to use, including commercially.