What is Inkwell Ideas and what does it offer?

Updated

Inkwell Ideas is a publisher of role-playing game software and accessories. Its catalog centers on map-making tools for game masters—chiefly Worldographer, a hex-map program that also generates world details and city, dungeon, and battlemat maps—plus physical and digital aids such as DungeonMorph dice, cards, tiles, and books; 5e Creature Decks; Sidequest Decks; NPC Decks; Monster Stand-Ins cardstock minis; and the Coat of Arms Design Studio for heraldry.

Software: Worldographer

Worldographer (also called Hexographer 2) is the site's flagship map-making software. According to the site, it lets you:

  • Quickly create hex-style world and kingdom maps
  • Generate maps and information about that world, including cultures, religions, and nations
  • Make city and village maps, either auto-generated or built step by step so you can make changes
  • Quickly create dungeons and battlemats, with auto-generation for dungeons, inns, shops, and more

This makes it a fit for game masters who want a single tool spanning overworld, settlement, and encounter-scale maps rather than separate programs for each.

Software: Coat of Arms Design Studio

The Coat of Arms Design Studio is for creating heraldry—designs for a character, organization, or historical arms. The site notes it includes hundreds of built-in graphics and can import more, which suits players and GMs who want custom insignia without drawing them by hand.

Physical and digital accessories

Product What it is
DungeonMorph Dice, Cards, Tiles, & Book Tools to create a "never-ending dungeon on the fly," available as 1" engraved dice, 2.5" cards, 10" battlemats, and/or a book of ideas to fill the dungeons
5e Creature Decks Creature cards for the 5th Edition of the world's best-known RPG; some decks cover official creatures third parties can use, some are original creatures, and some come from Kobold Press's monster books
Sidequest Decks Each card is an adventure outline and map; each deck has over 50 adventures, with several decks based on genre and setting
NPC Decks Decks of NPCs for various needs—adventurers, henchmen, townsfolk, monsters, science fiction, and more; each card has a portrait on one side and personality, background, and quirks on the back
Monster Stand-Ins Cardstock Minis Over 600 cardstock minis for under $30, including 16 stands and a matching PDF; extra stands and an organizer box are also available, or you can get just the PDF

How to decide what fits your table

  • If you need to build a campaign world or dungeon maps, start with Worldographer, since it covers hex world/kingdom maps, cities, dungeons, and battlemats in one program.
  • If you want ready-to-run encounters without prep, the Sidequest Decks (adventure outlines plus maps) and DungeonMorph sets (on-the-fly dungeon generation) are the closest match.
  • If you need NPCs or monsters at the table, the NPC Decks and 5e Creature Decks provide card-based references, while Monster Stand-Ins supply affordable miniatures (over 600 for under $30, per the site).
  • If you want custom heraldry, the Coat of Arms Design Studio is the dedicated tool.

The site describes these products and their contents but does not publish current prices or purchasing terms in the material reviewed here, so check the individual product pages for pricing and availability before buying.