I was recently trying to make a dungeon for a module I was writing, but I wasn't happy with the initial dungeon at all. From the suggestion of one of the editors I decided to redo it, which brought me this thought about how to make a dungeon with puzzles related to the narrative/exploration and having it be tied to the story in a meaningful way.
Initially the idea is very simple, we would have a key that would open a door or a location in a dungeon. But in fact, both the key and the lock would be metaphors. The meaning of these metaphors could reframe this simple concept. There would then be some categories, which I will try to explore below. Some examples of keys: Lore, Power, Exploration, Interaction/Alliances, but they are vast. All these "keys" would then open "locks" of places in the dungeon to be explored, in the broadest sense of the word, and all of them would also be attached to the meaning of it’s key.
The Lore Key
Lore itself can open hidden or locked doors in a dungeon, one example is a temple of elemental gods, where statues of their representation must be placed on top of their respective symbols. This will open a staircase that will lead to a hidden room of cults, with various valuable ritual items.
So the Lore can be explored both throughout the dungeon, as previously in some kind of prelude to it, this “lock” can be vital for exploration or it can just mean something more to the characters. Either way this will make the PCs and the players themselves pay attention and reframe the Lore presented in the adventure. It's not just going to be a boring GM monologue about his whole genius plot.
Some other examples would be:
A crypt of ancient kings, where the burial chamber of each one would have to be opened with some object, weapon or tool inherent to each king.
A lich lair, where each vault would be opened by some item that was used in the lich doom.
In all these examples, obviously prior knowledge is required, and, as stated earlier, it must be explored in some way in the campaign or adventure itself.
The Power Key
As in the Lore topic, this "lock" can serve several purposes, as described above, but I'll add one that can be used as a form of hiatus when exploring a dungeon, I'll explain below.
The key in this specific case would be something that would make the characters stronger, it could be a specific spell for some level, a magic item that can only be handled with a strength or ability, anyway some kind of power that PCs don't have yet. Although I don't like to level power, this can obviously serve for that, and, as we've seen in video games, curiosity as well as FOMO of this momentarily inaccessible place can generate an interesting engagement in your game.
The Exploration Key
This "key" serves when something in dungeon exploration is sorely needed. This device is not as narratively sound as the previous ones, but it can serve as a way to make your players intrigued. Also, solving this puzzle can get them very excited.
A suspended lever in a secret room that unlocks a secret door, or an impassable door are simple examples. Why this "key" and "lock" exists can have an interesting meaning. It could be a magician's or craftsman's tower, with various recesses and secret passages to hide their treasures, reagents or knowledge.
The Interaction Key
This "key" can be considered a master key. It can resolve all other "locks", but it may have some that are specifically resolved by interacting with NPCs. NPCs can hold keys non-metaphorically as well as metaphorically.
Some illustrative examples:
NPCs who know that mind controlling beings inhabit the dungeon and own, sell, or give away mind control protective tiaras.
An ancient subterranean survivor who knows the blind spot in the Cyclops's eyes that clearly is a very strong challenge for the PCs.
A faction that has an objective adjacent to the character’s , with which they can join forces.
Conclusion
All keys and locks are examples and this can be expanded to a much broader perception. Unlike old tools, their meaning and insertion into the narrative can make your dungeon much more interesting. Cards up your sleeve to try to circumvent any communication failures during sessions can, and should, be thought of as a plan B, so your game simply doesn't crash and the players don’t get frustrated. The presence of this tool can also be made clear at the start of the session or campaign to keep players on their toes.
Of course, this is something that if used to exhaustion can become repulsive and annoying. This seasoning should be used sparingly and with caution. Players may know of the existence of this tool as a foreshadowing, but they don't know exactly when and why they will come across it.
It also goes without saying that the more within the setting and the more meaningful for your game's world/setting that this tool is, the better. And, obviously, this can be built collaboratively: like a library where the PCs come across ancestral knowledge and the GM asks the players what knowledge is there, writes it down and uses it in a "lock" and the collaboratively built knowledge will be the "key".
Hollow Earth Addendum
I'm still trying to write the setting very slowly and trying to weave my loose thoughts into it.
You can find the concepts about the setting in other blog posts. In this specific topic, as dungeons consist of unexplored strange technology environments, thinking in a simple way, the keys would be technological tools left by the inhabitants of the hollow earth.
The layers of meaning could be a few:
What kinds of ancestral inhabitants were there?
What were the functions of these places for the ancestors?
Some remnants remained alive and lost consciousness due to magical corruption.
Will these keys re-enable the functionality of that environment?
Because it's an obscure knowledge to the PCs, they can reframe all of this with their own mythology. Seeing these truths mixed up or revealed to be the truth can give a very pleasant flavor to exploration.
The concept of the four initial keys discussed above can be applied directly, remembering that:
Lore that is known is mythological and does not correspond to raw reality.
The concept of power can be extrapolated to electrical energy, and even magic, in order to antagonize ancestral technology.
The exploration tool can be used at random as described.
And the interaction consists of the few inhabitants of the surface world who know the “truth”, even if in a murky and incomplete way, about the subterranean world.
That's it guys, thank you for reading, leave your thoughts if you want and until next time.
Edited and many thanks to C. A. Berlitz
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