diff --git a/qbsp/cmdlib.c b/qbsp/cmdlib.c
index 71a5ccd9..18390794 100644
--- a/qbsp/cmdlib.c
+++ b/qbsp/cmdlib.c
@@ -107,3 +107,20 @@ StripExtension(char *path)
     if (length)
 	path[length] = 0;
 }
+
+void
+StripFilename(char *path)
+{
+    int length;
+
+    length = strlen(path) - 1;
+    while (length > 0 && path[length] != PATHSEPERATOR)
+        length--;
+    path[length] = '\0';
+}
+
+int
+IsAbsolutePath(const char *path)
+{
+    return path[0] == '/' || (isalpha(path[0]) && path[1] == ':');
+}
diff --git a/qbsp/qbsp.c b/qbsp/qbsp.c
index 0d2d2313..496c0947 100644
--- a/qbsp/qbsp.c
+++ b/qbsp/qbsp.c
@@ -315,6 +315,7 @@ PrintOptions(void)
     printf("   -nopercent      Prevents output of percent completion information\n");
     printf("   -leakdist  [n]  Space between leakfile points (default 2)\n");
     printf("   -subdivide [n]  Use different texture subdivision (default 240)\n");
+    printf("   -wadpath <dir>  Search this directory for wad files\n");
     printf("   sourcefile      .MAP file to process\n");
     printf("   destfile        .BSP file to output\n");
 
@@ -433,6 +434,12 @@ ParseOptions(char *szOptions)
 		    Message(msgError, errInvalidOption, szTok);
 		options.dxSubdivide = atoi(szTok2);
 		szTok = szTok2;
+	    } else if (!strcasecmp(szTok, "wadpath")) {
+		szTok2 = GetTok(szTok + strlen(szTok) + 1, szEnd);
+		if (!szTok2)
+		    Message(msgError, errInvalidOption, szTok);
+		strcpy(options.wadPath, szTok2);
+		szTok = szTok2;
 	    } else if (!strcasecmp(szTok, "?") || !strcasecmp(szTok, "help"))
 		PrintOptions();
 	    else
@@ -467,7 +474,7 @@ InitQBSP(int argc, char **argv)
     options.dxLeakDist = 2;
     options.dxSubdivide = 240;
     options.fVerbose = true;
-    options.szMapName[0] = options.szBSPName[0] = 0;
+    options.szMapName[0] = options.szBSPName[0] = options.wadPath[0] = 0;
 
     length = LoadFile("qbsp.ini", (void *)&szBuf, false);
     if (length) {
@@ -509,6 +516,12 @@ InitQBSP(int argc, char **argv)
     if (options.szBSPName[0] == 0)
 	strcpy(options.szBSPName, options.szMapName);
 
+    /* If no wadpath given, default to the map directory */
+    if (options.wadPath[0] == 0) {
+	strcpy(options.wadPath, options.szMapName);
+	StripFilename(options.wadPath);
+    }
+
     // Remove already existing files
     if (!options.fOnlyents) {
 	StripExtension(options.szBSPName);
diff --git a/qbsp/qbsp.h b/qbsp/qbsp.h
index 1417eca9..00fb98ec 100644
--- a/qbsp/qbsp.h
+++ b/qbsp/qbsp.h
@@ -163,6 +163,8 @@ double I_FloatTime(void);
 
 void DefaultExtension(char *path, char *extension);
 void StripExtension(char *path);
+void StripFilename(char *path);
+int IsAbsolutePath(const char *path);
 
 char *copystring(char *s);
 
@@ -525,6 +527,7 @@ typedef struct options_s {
     int dxLeakDist;
     char szMapName[512];
     char szBSPName[512];
+    char wadPath[512];
 } options_t;
 
 extern options_t options;
diff --git a/qbsp/wad.c b/qbsp/wad.c
index 801c3002..97b3ab4a 100644
--- a/qbsp/wad.c
+++ b/qbsp/wad.c
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ WADList_Init(wad_t **wads, char *wadstring)
     int i, len, numwads;
     wad_t *tmp, *w;
     char *fname;
+    char *fpath;
+    int pathlen;
 
     numwads = 0;
     *wads = NULL;
@@ -83,14 +85,25 @@ WADList_Init(wad_t **wads, char *wadstring)
 	while (wadstring[i] != 0 && wadstring[i] != ';')
 	    i++;
 	wadstring[i++] = 0;
-	w->file = fopen(fname, "rb");
+
+	if (!options.wadPath[0] || IsAbsolutePath(fname))
+	    fpath = copystring(fname);
+	else {
+	    pathlen = strlen(options.wadPath) + strlen(fname) + 1;
+	    fpath = AllocMem(OTHER, pathlen + 1, false);
+	    sprintf(fpath, "%s/%s", options.wadPath, fname);
+	}
+	w->file = fopen(fpath, "rb");
 	if (w->file) {
+	    if (options.fVerbose)
+		Message(msgLiteral, "Opened WAD: %s\n", fpath);
 	    if (!WAD_LoadInfo(w)) {
-		Message(msgWarning, warnNotWad, fname);
+		Message(msgWarning, warnNotWad, fpath);
 		fclose(w->file);
 	    } else
 		w++;
 	}
+	FreeMem(fpath, OTHER, strlen(fpath) + 1);
     }
 
     /* Re-allocate just the required amount */