Dungeon #7 - 5 Minutes - Something a little different

Thought I would try something a little different and I like the results. The 5 minute dungeon works for Towns as well!

5 Minutes on 5"x7" note pad paper. A modest sized town at a crossroads. A major town square (1) surrounded by the major town buildings and halls (2-8) followed by houses, workshops, and places of business for weary travelers and for themselves (9-21). Major roadways and features follow(22-29). Enjoy. I will be doing more of these.

Dungeon #6 - 5 Minutes

Welcome to the Dungeon! We got fun and games...

A more traditional dungeon layout with interconnected rooms and a spiral stair entry from some ruined tower or keep above. A combination of large and small rooms and galleries with multiple passages. Hard to set up fully protected attacks or defenses. Enjoy Delvers!

Dungeon #5 - 5 Minutes

This is the first one where I had an idea in mind before starting. On a cold and rainy/misty day in the mid-west my mind wandered to wicked and cruel Barrow-Mounds covered in wet grass and leaves, crude stonework showing on the faces.

This one has a buried entry(1) with a simple stair to a spartan false burial chamber. A secret door lead to a descending stair to the real crypts. The second entry(2) has a winding stair leading to a false burial chamber(3). This chamber is better appointed and may seem like the real thing. An investigation will reveal a secret door to the crypts below. The real fore chamber to the crypt. carved in rock and covered in intricate murals. Some mischief resides here. The Winding Stair (6) leads to  the burial crypt Ante Chamber (7). Five separate burial chambers (8-12) from different ages spin off the central Ante Chamber. Each chamber is different, distinct and holds it's own personal horror, trick or trap left by the cursed kings of another age.

Dungeon #4 - 5 minutes

A temple or occult ritual ground. 5 minutes on 4x6 ruled post it pad. The normal pens. I did speed things up enough o start to get some character pieces in (statues, columns, stairs, etc.).

A double stair (1) to the fore chamber with statue (2) to the main columned hall with major statue at the end. A major side room (7) and three smaller side rooms (4-6) lead from the main hall. A secret chamber (8) exists and is accessed by a passage behind the main hall statue.

Can you take down the sinister cult or oppressive military order that calls these sacred halls thier home? Get to it Adventurers!

Dungeon #3 - 5 Minutes

A cavern complex this time.Not too many choices, but a few, for the adventurers. 5 minutes on 4x6 ruled post it note.

A winding natrual cut stairway (1) leads to two windy caverns(2-3) before a major forechamber (4) and a major cavern with a standing body of water and three side chambers (5, 7, 8).

Enjoy brave delvers!

Dungeon #2 - 4 Minutes

OK so here is the second go at it. 4 minutes total time. I set a stop timer for 5 minutes on my iphone and start sketching. I got interrupted by a phone call at 4 minutes in so I stopped. Razor Point II and Sharpie Ulltra Fine point markers on lined yellow 4x6 lined post-it note. Another minute and I may have had some columns and an altar in there. I did get the room numbers and stairs on though. And you can see that I though I could do this in 3 minutes. Possible but 2 minutes of additional time adds a lot.

This seems like a Baronal Burial Crypt from a long standing and wealthy family. Nice winding stairs (1) in to an antechamber (2). Then to a worship room (3)connected to the preparation room (4) and the central burial room (5) and crypts (6-9). I had no thought of that when I designed/drew it.

A full nights work if the crypt has turned foul with undead and villainy. 

Or it could certainly be an ancient burial crypt as well. Long forgotten but rediscovered by the party via a map or random chance. the choice is yours. Have fun! 

Dungeon #1 - 3 Minutes

Hey all! First post on the 5 Minute Dungeons blog. Dungeon Cartography in 5 minutes or less. I am going to use what ever post-it, napkin, trace or graph paper scrap I have and do a dungeon with basic layout, features, hallways, stairs and rooms in 5 minutes or less.

I started with the idea of 3 minute dungeons and I got this:

Scale independent, but the hallways can be assumed to be 5' or 10'. In most cases 10'. A little refinement and a good random table and it's good to go for a weekend bash.

This stuff shouldn't be hard or enough work for second job. A very old school take for sure.