@juju said:

will something like this be of help?

http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=normal_map_maker

That is pretty cool but it's for normal maps wich are usually created for rendering.

I believe this has something to do with real maps (topography, geography, that sort of stuff)...

Are your maps color coded somehow? There is a color to height plugin somewhere but I don't think it would be accurate enough for what you need.