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I run a lot of of modern and science fiction RPGs (Savage Worlds, Shadowrun, Eclipse Phase, nWod and the like) and I have found that actual, printed floorplans for locations can really enhance play from both a feeling of realism and also it simplifies the planning process for PCs trying to say break in and raid a location.

In the past I've spent a lot of time looking through Google trying to find floor plans on an ad hoc basis, which has sort of worked. However, there must be a better way.

What source do you recommend for a large number of printable, modern, decent quality floor plans?

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Looking for tiles as well as floorplans will expand your options. Tiles are great (and more common) for some smaller areas or where you want more detail, while floorplans can be more or less detailed depending on the scale.

An easy source is for-pay PDFs of tiles and floorplans. RPGNow hosts a lot of PDF publishers who specialise in floor tiles (for example, the e-Future tiles line were the first that came up when I searched) and there are tonnes of unmarked floor plans available. Similarly, searching for "tile modern" turns up boats, diners, office buildings, subway… For-pay PDFs vary in price and quality, but there is a lot of variety out there and everyone has samples to help you determine if you like their work. This is probably the most reliable "better way". Floorplan PDFs tend to be a bit cheaper than tiles simply because there isn't as much a market for them, not being immediately useful for battle-map styles of games.

Another source is The Cartographers' Guild, a forum/community of map-makers. Searching for "science fiction" or "sci fi" and "tile" (sorry, no direct link to the search URL due to the way the forum software works) yielded me a bunch of ship tiles, while "modern floorplan" turned up a sawmill, chapel, office buildings, and a bowling alley. It looks like requests are sometimes taken, though of course that's going to depend on the people involved. (NB that you have to register as a member to view or download image attachments.)

There are also a few old and current board games that tend to attract fan-made tiles. For a science fiction example, searching for "Space Hulk" and "tiles" will turn up a bunch of results.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I asked Randal the same question below, but have you personally purchased any of the RPGNow floorplan PDFs? I did see they were around, but it is hard to judge quality without some first hand experience. \$\endgroup\$
    – Rain
    Jul 3, 2011 at 3:25
  • \$\begingroup\$ I haven't. Looking now I'm surprised that there aren't more downloadable samples or "give one away free" products to serve exactly that purpose. The "Modern Floorplans" line at least has one free PDF that can be used to judge their line's quality. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 3, 2011 at 18:07
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You didn't say "free" was a critical feature, so doing a search for modern or even modern floorplansrpgnow on sites like http://www.rpgnow.com produces some leads that sell PDFs (including some free) that might fit your needs...

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I have a few of the free ones from both RPGNow and DriveThruRPG and they are of pretty good quality, especially for being free. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 3, 2011 at 0:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ Do you have any personal experience with the purchased options? I don't mind spending some money, but specific recommendations for particular products or companies would be appreciated. \$\endgroup\$
    – Rain
    Jul 3, 2011 at 3:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ I do not. I buy fantasy papercraft buildings, tiles, and mood music on the site. They usually have a few pages of the PDF viewable on the product page. When they don't, I take the product name/company and google for it, often there are photos and more info on other sites. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 3, 2011 at 5:29
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Museums maps are good for large things/palaces since that's generally where they are hosted. Many are online as well which helps. Some estates have maps online as part of their website.

You should be able to look at estate agents for floor plans of houses and offices. You could even go to your local planning office and request floor plans -- I think that's legal and free but I could be wrong. Some business parks will have "typical offices" layouts as well.

It does require some work/research and none of those will ever be "game suitable" as they are if you expect squares and hexes. However, they make awesome handouts.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Things like this are what I have been using. Other than Google I was really wondering if there were any good aggregators of this kind of information. Squares and hexes don't really matter- I tend to use them as handouts as-is. \$\endgroup\$
    – Rain
    Jul 4, 2011 at 17:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ I see... A quick Google search got me this: rpg.drivethrustuff.com/… which looks fine. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 5, 2011 at 7:52

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