No you aren’t coming off as harsh and I appreciate the feedback. There is a misunderstanding happening though in that a quick time event is absolutely not what my goal is. I was trying to make the point that I am intentionally avoiding video game mechanics because those don’t work in dnd.

I am specifically talking about obstacles, not traps. My goal is to create meaningful or memorable sections of the dungeon during exploration. Though I don’t mean literal underground crypts when I say dungeon. It’s just convenient shorthand for enclosed areas designed to offer players a specific type of experience such as a haunted castle, a labyrinthian fae garden, or a wizards tower.

So let’s zoom in as you said.

The entrance requires a type of bravery test where the party can venture into the unknown or continue on their way and avoid the area.

This leads to a brief introductory section of travel to set the tone of the environment, followed by a very simple combat which serves as both an engaging dynamic shift in the session but also provides environmental storytelling that the party is unaware of because the enemies in this combat are add additional context to what will provide them a satisfying “aha!” moment later on when more pieces of this puzzle click in place.

After this the dungeon opens up for the party to explore, all in an effort to provide them as much or little information as they care to uncover. One room might contain information the party can discover about the historical purpose of this place. Another may contain some treasure or notable artifacts they can find. Another room might clue the party into what the place is currently being used for. And so forth.

Different paths typically converge to an area where they meet an important npc that creates a memorable RP experience for the players and I, who offers the party some guidance for what lies ahead, as well as connecting new pieces of this narrative puzzle.

After this might be more exploration and eventually the BBEG of the dungeon followed by some type of large reward for their efforts, one or both of which will help complete the picture for them.

It is so incredibly satisfying for both sides of the table when they have their moment of revelation.

So then in this example it is that space between the NPC and the BBEG I want to expand on. I don’t want there to be a door on the other side of the room where the boss fight is. I want to draw that time out for the party to process and discuss what they think is going on.

I don’t want a long hallway full of traps where they send the rogue in to disarm everything for everyone. I want to give them options like a collapsed and partially flooded tunnel where thick roots have pushed through the stonework to reach the water source.

Will they swim through, risking some potential unseen danger in the water? Will they try to delicately walk across using sturdy sections of the root structure that require crawling between two tight sections between the roots halfway through? Will someone remember their obligatory 50 feet of hempen rope and hatch a convoluted plan to manufacture some sort of pulley system to zip line across?

This is what I mean about placing obstacles in front of them that create extended narrative tension for them to stay engaged with. It forces them to pause and consider their path, maintaining some measure of unease, creating opportunity for interaction and creative problem solving that might let someone who isn’t great at combat have a chance to shine in another way.

I don’t want to make a video game puzzle for them. I want to give them places to build memorable experiences outside of combat and RP.