It's very nice - I'm using it for my next One-Page Dungeon submission. Hexographer has a free version which lets you make simple hex-grid area maps for free. As far as freeware goes, you have some options. I assume you'd like to actually make your own maps and can't afford to use the stuff above. There are several cartographers who post maps or map samples online (i.e., Paratime Design Cartography) some of these maps are produced with Dundjinni and CC3, and both have galleries where users post their own maps. I own both, and they're very nice for what they do: CC3 is basically a stripped-down CAD program, while Dundjinni uses tiles, but they produce nice results and have a lot of support. The two heaviest hitters in the RPG map-making software industry (it's an industry?!?) are Campaign Cartographer 3 and Dundjinni. There are several options for map-making software. There are some good tutorials scattered around the web if you know where to look, I think I even saw a thread here about it once.Re: Open Source or Free Map Making Software Really though, if you want real quality maps, you have to draw them personally (either by traditional methods or digital) or hire a professional. You can convert the results into a Photoshop-compatable file and apply some filters to make it look more 'hand drawn' (although people will still notice, it at least looks like you're trying) or you could use custom symbols instead of the ones supplied with the program, which of course means you need to draw or acquire new symbols by some other means. There are a number of things you can do to help get around this problem, although none of them are really ideal. Thing is, they are faster and easier to master than a 'true' art package that isn't specifically designed for mapping work. This goes likewise for a number of different packages too.

It's usually pretty easy to pick out a Campaign Cartographer map, as Charke so rightly says. If you're looking for something fast and easy for those who aren't particularly artistic by nature, then you usually have to expect some degree of recognisability.

Map making programs free