Dungeons and Dragons Players Boycotting Map-Making Tool Over AI Controversy

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Inkarnate, a well-known Dungeons and Dragons map-making program, is currently dealing with criticism regarding its plans to permit the use of AI art tools when creating items for its marketplace. Although Inkarnate won’t be directly using generative AI itself, this choice, alongside a few other recent policy adjustments, has led many Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts to stop using the map program.

Many gamers who want to make their own maps for Dungeons and Dragons campaigns choose Inkarnate, a very popular tool. The core features of this online program are free for everyone, and a low-cost subscription unlocks even more options – like custom artwork, the ability to use maps for commercial projects, and other benefits.

Players Threaten Boycott of Inkarnate Over AI Art Policies

Recently, some changes in policy have caused concern among Inkarnate fans. On September 24th, CEO Ingmar announced in a Q&A session on the Inkarnate Discord – specifically within the channel for Champion-tier Early Access supporters – that artists will be permitted to use generative AI to create assets for its third-party marketplace. These items will reportedly be reviewed for quality and clearly marked as AI-generated. Importantly, Inkarnate itself maintains a strict policy against using genAI for its own assets. Ingmar explained that the company believes customers should be able to decide for themselves – “vote with their wallets,” as he put it – rather than the company completely prohibiting the use of this debated technology. The discussion was documented and shared on the dndmaps Subreddit by MonstaMaps.

This Q&A followed a series of issues that began a few days earlier. On September 19th, Inkarnate unexpectedly more than doubled its subscription costs for new users, with minimal explanation, but kept the original prices for current subscribers. By Monday, they reversed the price increase due to negative feedback from users. However, shortly after, Inkarnate faced another problem – an advertisement created with AI art, outsourced to another company, appeared and was shared on the Inkarnate Reddit by GailenGigabyte, similar to what happened with Overwatch 2.

It’s no surprise that fans reacted negatively to these changes. The Reddit thread and other social media platforms were quickly filled with hundreds of comments from users and artists who create content for the marketplace – and that doesn’t even include the feedback shared on the Discord server. Inkarnate has responded to this criticism by saying they are considering revising the terms, which could lead to a complete prohibition of AI-generated art in their marketplace. As of this moment, there haven’t been any new announcements, so players will need to watch for further updates from Inkarnate to see what the map-making tool will decide. Gamers are eager to learn what happens next.

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2025-09-30 01:06