Dungeon Map Paper

Q: Does this work for hex-based games?

No, hex games use [hexagonal graph paper](/graph-paper/hexagonal-graph-paper). The square grid is for games that use square movement (D&D, Pathfinder, most miniature wargames). Hex grids are for games where diagonal/hex movement matters (Battletech, Star Fleet Battles, some OSR variants).

A heavy 1-inch grid (the standard '5-foot square' scale used by D&D and most tabletop RPGs) with faint 1/4-inch subdivisions for finer alignment. Every 1-inch cell represents a 5-foot square of game space — the canonical movement and combat grid for tactical play.

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Great for

Dungeon design and battle-map drafting
D&D, Pathfinder, OSR and similar tactical RPGs
Wargaming terrain at the 1-inch = 5-foot or 1-inch = 5-meter scale
Boardgame prototype maps and tile design

About dungeon map paper

The 1-inch grid is the dominant scale in tabletop RPG combat. The convention dates to 1977 and the original *Advanced Dungeons & Dragons* Dungeon Master's Guide, which standardised the 1-square = 5-foot abstraction. Every subsequent edition of D&D (1st through 5th and now beyond) inherited the scale; Pathfinder, OSR retroclones, and most other tactical-grid RPGs use the same. The 1-inch dimension matches the standard miniature base size — a single 25 mm or 28 mm mini fits comfortably inside one square — so the grid simultaneously serves as a movement counter and a placement guide. The 1/4-inch subdivisions are a more recent addition, popularised by modern map-makers for cases where you need finer alignment than the 5-foot grid offers. Walls that aren't on grid lines, doors and door swings, narrow corridors that occupy half a square. Old-school dungeon maps were drawn entirely on the 1-inch grid; modern ones often use the subdivisions to capture details the original scale couldn't.

What's on the page

A 1-inch (25.4 mm) primary grid with bold lines, and a 1/4-inch (6.35 mm) secondary grid with hairline lines. The major lines define the 5-foot combat squares; the minor lines provide alignment guides for half-squares, doors and decorative features. The grid is centred so the leftover space splits evenly into the margins. On Letter paper you get about 7×9 major squares; on A4, about 7×10; on tabloid, 10×15.

How to use it well

Sketch in 5-foot units, refine in 1.25-foot

Lay out the dungeon's room sizes and corridor widths on the 1-inch grid first. Once the floor plan is correct, use the 1/4-inch subdivisions to add doors (which conventionally occupy 1/4 to 1/2 a major square), wall thickness (1/4 square is standard), and small terrain features.

Use thick walls for stone, thin for wood

A traditional convention: stone walls are drawn at full 1/4-inch thickness (the width of one subdivision); wooden walls or partitions are drawn as a single line. The reader can tell at a glance which walls are destructible.

Number rooms before describing them

Standard dungeon-design practice: assign each room a number before writing the key. Numbering as you draw (1, 2, 3 …) makes the key easier to follow and prevents the all-too-common 'where did room 7 go?' problem.

Sketch in pencil, ink the keepers

First-pass exploration of room arrangements is best done in pencil — you'll erase and revise. Once the layout's settled, ink the walls in a bold, dark line; pencil shows up faintly under ink in case you need to refer back, but the final map prints and copies cleanly.

Common mistakes to avoid

Drawing walls on the grid lines. The convention is to draw walls *along* grid lines, not on top of them — the line should be visibly thicker than the underlying gridline, and ideally on a slight offset (use the 1/4-inch grid to offset by one subdivision). Walls drawn directly on the gridline can blur with the grid itself.
Mixing scales between maps. If one dungeon uses 1 square = 5 feet and the next uses 1 square = 10 feet, players spend half the session asking 'wait, what's the scale here?'. Pick a scale and stick with it across a campaign.
Over-detailing. A battle map is a tactical tool, not architectural draughting. Show only the features that matter for combat or exploration: walls, doors, hazards, key features. Decorative details belong in the room descriptions or in separate illustrations, not on the grid.

FAQ, Dungeon Map Paper

Why 1 inch = 5 feet?＋

Inherited from the original 1977 AD&D rules and unchanged through five editions of D&D. The scale works because it lets a 25–28 mm miniature stand in one square comfortably, a humanoid character's 5-foot reach lines up with diagonal adjacency, and movement (commonly 30 feet per turn) translates to six squares — easy to track at a glance.

How is this different from the [1-inch grid paper](/graph-paper/graph-paper-1-inch)?＋

Plain 1-inch grid paper has uniform lines at 1-inch intervals — no subdivisions. Dungeon map paper adds 1/4-inch subdivisions for finer alignment (doors, partial walls, half-squares) and uses bolder lines for the major 1-inch grid to make the combat squares more visually distinct. For pure tactical movement, either works; for actual dungeon design, the subdivisions are usually worth having.

Can I use metric instead?＋

Yes. The major spacing in metric is typically 25 mm (close to 1 inch) or 30 mm. Some European tabletop systems use 1 square = 1.5 m, which suits a slightly different grid size. The 25.4 mm version on this template translates cleanly between US and metric users.

Does this work for hex-based games?＋

No, hex games use hexagonal graph paper. The square grid is for games that use square movement (D&D, Pathfinder, most miniature wargames). Hex grids are for games where diagonal/hex movement matters (Battletech, Star Fleet Battles, some OSR variants).

What about outdoor / wilderness maps?＋

Different scale. Outdoor adventure maps typically use 1 square = 1 mile or 1 square = 1 hex of overland travel — far coarser than the 5-foot grid. For outdoor maps you'd want a different template, possibly the hexagonal or larger-spaced grid at a totally different unit scale.

Printing tips for best results＋

1. Click Print above. A new tab opens the template at exact size.
2. The print dialog appears automatically. Set Scale to 100%. Never "Fit to page", which silently shrinks every cell.
3. Set Margins to None or Minimum so the grid reaches the page edge.
4. For a PDF, click Download instead. It generates a vector PDF directly without going through the printer driver.