RPG Dungeons are dangerous places. Filled with all manner of creatures, traps, and treasure, even the most benign of dungeons can take a chunk out of an adventuring party. Now at times, discretion is the better part of valor…but a party that flees from a dungeon every time they take a scratch get pretty lame. Sometimes you just need to seal the party in, and force them to man up!
But how does the creative Game Master go about closing off the entrance?
One of the most iconic examples you can gain inspiration from comes in the form of the Watcher in the Water from the Fellowship of the Ring. Our intrepid fellowship is poised at the entrance of the Mines of Moria when the monster strikes. The party rushes into the mine to escape the creature at which point it tears down the entrance, forcing Frodo, Aragon, Gandalf and company to make the long journey to the other side.
Need inspiration for your own diabolic plots?
The Elfmaids & Octopi blog has created a list of 100 quick & easy ways to seal off a dungeon, thus forcing your party to face the perils you have prepared for them.
Here are 10 of our favorites:
1. Mudslide Seals Entry
2. Quake Collapses Entry or Causes Rockslide
3. Snow Avalanche Seals Entry (possibly magic)
4. Water Floods Entry Way
5. A Fire Damages Tunnel Collapsing It
6. Volcanic Fissure Seals with Lava
7. Poison Gas Floods Entrance
8. Killer Plants Block Entry Way
9. Poison Arrow or Dart Traps Installed
10. Magical Ice Fills Entry
Click here to visit Elfmaids & Octopi for the rest of the list.
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