House Of Hazerds Explained And How To Actually Use It
I keep seeing people ask about House Of Hazerds and most of the answers floating around are either outdated or straight-up wrong. I spent a while digging into this myself because I needed it for a project, and the process is more fiddly than people make it seem. Here is what actually happened when I tried to get it running. It is a tool primarily used for creating hazard mapping and risk assessment visualizations for tabletop role-playing games. The program generates randomized encounter tables, trap placements, and danger zones that you can drop into your campaign materials. It was built around five years ago by a small indie developer and has had sporadic updates since then. The interface is basic. A lot of people expect something polished and find it lacking. That does not mean it does not work, but it means you need to figure out a few things on your own.
Getting It Downloaded And Installed
The official download page is at houseofhazerds.com. The current version runs on Windows 10 and above. macOS support exists but is labeled experimental and I personally ran into a rendering bug on my machine that made the map export feature unusable. If you are on Mac, you might want to look into running it through a VM or waiting for the next patch. The install process itself is straightforward. Run the installer, accept the defaults, and it places everything in your user folder. There is no license key required for the free tier. The free tier gives you one campaign file and basic hazard templates. The paid version unlocks additional templates and cloud sync, which I have not found necessary yet.
Setting Up Your First Hazard Map
When you open the program for the first time, you get a blank canvas and a sidebar with templates. The templates are where most people get confused. They are pre-made scenarios like dungeon rooms, outdoor wilderness hazards, and urban dangers. I would recommend starting with the "Dungeon Room Alpha" template because it has a smaller footprint and fewer variables to worry about. Click the template, then click anywhere on the canvas. A grid drops in. The grid is measured in feet per square by default. You can change this by right-clicking the grid and selecting "Map Settings." I changed mine to meters because I was more comfortable with that system and it made my math easier when cross-referencing with my actual campaign notes. From there, you add hazards using the toolbar on the left. The hazard types include environmental effects like poison gas, structural failures, temperature extremes, and creature ambushes. Each hazard type has configurable parameters. The poison gas template, for example, lets you set the radius, duration, and whether the effect is visible or invisible.
Get the Full Details
I hit a snag when trying to layer two hazards on top of each other. The game would sometimes override one hazard with the other instead of stacking them. The workaround was to save the file after placing the first hazard, close and reopen the project, then add the second hazard. It is a known limitation that the developer acknowledged on the Discord server but has not prioritized fixing. If you need heavy stacking, I would recommend using two separate maps instead.
Exporting And Sharing
Once your map is done, you export as a PNG or a PDF. The PNG option preserves transparency if you plan to overlay it on a player map. The PDF is better if you want a print-ready copy for your screen. I usually go with PDF for my own use because it prints cleaner and does not compress the colors as much. There is also a VTT export function if you use Foundry or Roll20. This exports a JSON file that you can import directly into the VTT. The import has worked consistently for me on Foundry v10. I have heard mixed results with Roll20 depending on which version they are running, so test it with a simple map first before committing to it for your actual session.
Things That Go Wrong And How To Fix Them
One issue I ran into repeatedly was the save file getting corrupted after an unexpected shutdown. This happened because the program writes the save file incrementally rather than as a complete write. The workaround is to keep the "Auto-Save Interval" set to at least every two minutes. I set mine to one minute and have not lost progress since. Also, make manual backups of your campaign files before running lengthy export operations. Another problem is texture loading. If your graphics card drivers are outdated, you might see missing textures or flickering on the canvas. Updating your GPU drivers usually resolves this. I did not realize this was the issue for about three weeks until someone on the forums mentioned it.
Is It Worth Using Over Alternatives
The honest answer depends on what you need. If you want something quick and easy with minimal configuration, House Of Hazerds works fine. But if you need advanced scripting, custom asset support, or real-time collaboration, you should look at alternatives like Azeylandia or Dungeon Scrawl. House Of Hazerds is not built for those use cases. For people running occasional sessions and needing hazard maps without spending a lot of time setting things up, this tool is adequate. Just be aware of its limitations and do not expect it to solve problems it was not designed to solve. The developer is responsive to feedback but the update cycle is slow, so feature requests might take months or never materialize.
