Rune lock
Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
A rune lock is a barrier that prevents you from entering a particular branch before you have a sufficient number of the runes of Zot. Two rune locks currently exist in Crawl:
- The entrance to the Vaults requires 1 rune to unlock.
- The entrance to the Realm of Zot requires 3 runes to unlock. This serves as the main barrier preventing the player from simply descending as deep as possible and reaching the Orb.
Rune Availability
- Only two runes, from Vaults and Tomb, are unavailable as the first rune. But it is highly recommended to get the first rune from one of the two Lair branches (Snake Pit/Spider's Nest and Swamp/Shoals). Followers of Jiyva can easily acquire the rune from the Slime Pits once they have accumulated sufficient piety, but others will likely wish to wait until later. Obtaining the second rune is generally best done in the other Lair branch from the list above.
- The third and final rune for opening the Realm of Zot is best obtained from either the Vaults, the Slime Pits, or the Abyss.
- All runes found in the Hells, Pandemonium, and Tomb are largely considered optional and are mainly used to improve the final score.
History
- In 0.28, the ziggurat rune lock was removed; it required 2 runes to open, prior.
- In 0.19, the number of runes required to enter a ziggurat was reduced from 3 to 2.
- In 0.14, the Vaults rune lock was added.
- Although the concept of a rune lock to the Vaults had been debated since very early versions of Crawl, it was only implemented after the 0.13 tournament, in which acquiring a rune before D:14 was an optional challenge conduct. Prior to the rune lock, players had little reason to explore the Lair branches until after they'd explored most of the main Dungeon and the Vaults, leaving them very overpowered for the challenges the branch endings provided.
- A rune lock requiring 3 runes has always existed for the Realm of Zot.
