Underkeep Guide: How to Start, Progress, and Open the Sealed Tower

An Underkeep guide is most useful when it keeps you moving instead of turning every locked door into a dead end. The 2026 Rake in Grass dungeon crawler is built around a four-character party, grid-based exploration, and turn-based combat, so preparation matters as much as winning individual fights. This Underkeep guide focuses on the decisions that actually move a run forward: building a balanced party, reaching Village of Underkeep, collecting Obelisks, and understanding the separate key requirements for the Mausoleum and the tower. If you have bounced off old-school dungeon crawlers before, the opening is more approachable than it looks—provided you check equipment, read the clues, and know which objective is worth pursuing next.

What Kind of Game Is Underkeep?

Underkeep is a first-person dungeon crawler built around a four-character party, grid-based exploration, and turn-based combat. You spend much of your time moving between forest paths, underground passages, villages, and ruins, so the challenge is not only combat. A locked door may belong to your current objective, a future quest, or a route that needs a tool you have not learned yet.

Community notes for the 2026 game mention three difficulty settings and a crate tutorial during the opening. As of November 5, 2026, the underkeep.org guide hub noted that the developer planned to expand the in-game how-to-play book and that a full public manual had not been posted. For store details and platform support, check the official Underkeep Steam listing.

Building a Party for Your First Underkeep Guide Run

You do not need one fixed party composition to finish the opening journey, but you do need a group that can survive repeated encounters without burning every recovery item. Before entering the first underground passages, check that each character has usable equipment and an active skill assigned.

For a first run, community player experience often favors the quick-start party. In the Underkeep Beginner Guide 2026, Dean the Game Alchemist describes that setup as a frontline fighter, a frontline healer, a ranged damage dealer, and a caster—a mix that covers most situations without requiring deep system knowledge.

Passive skills are a safe early investment. They boost the actions a character already performs and can keep a run moving when you are unsure where to branch out. Save before dialogue choices, puzzle attempts, or quest turn-ins if you want to test outcomes without committing.

Early Progression: From the Forest to the Village

Follow the Whispers of the Underkeep quest through the starting forest and connected underground passages. The route passes through Hollow Grave Tunnels and the Orc Warehouse area before returning to the forest path toward the village.

Three checkpoints matter most:

1. Find the Silver Key. It opens a passage needed to continue toward the later forest section.
2. Meet Garric near the village entrance. He asks you to clear burrowing enemies south of his position.
3. Return to Garric after the fight. Speaking to him again grants entry to Village of Underkeep.

If you feel stuck in the tunnels, check whether the Silver Key has been used and whether Garric's request is complete. Do not assume a locked route is the main path. Before leaving the tunnels, use this Underkeep guide's early checkpoint: confirm the Silver Key was used, Garric's enemies are cleared, and every character still has a usable skill.

Village of Underkeep: Quests, Obelisks, and Supply Runs

Village of Underkeep becomes your hub. After the forest and tunnels, you may be short on Food, healing items, and Gold, so visit the tavern and traders before taking on another expedition. Sell unwanted equipment, buy supplies that fit your party, and keep some Gold available for quest interactions.

Two conversations shape the next phase:

• Mayor Aldren describes a missing expedition sent toward Northern Carolyn. Search the western side of that region for the expedition entrance.
• Khelebar, the village alchemist, explains the Waystone network and asks you to copy runes from four ancient Obelisks around the tower. Returning their rune records rewards the Teleportation Stone.

For this Underkeep guide, treat the Obelisks as a high-value early task. Fast travel reduces the cost of returning to the village for supplies and makes later objectives easier to pursue in different orders.

The table is a reference, not a rigid checklist. You can begin the Cemetery while still working on Khelebar's four Obelisks, and you can leave Northern Carolyn unfinished if another route stalls.

Mausoleum, Source, and the Tower's Key Fragments

Follow the investigation into Jacob's disappearance south to Underkeep Cemetery and the connected Mausoleum. Inside, you can rescue Jacob, investigate the Blood Order, and uncover the route to the Source. Opening the Source Gate requires three Golden Keys obtained from the High Clerics. Beyond the gate, you still need to defeat the Source Guardians and decide what happens to the Source. Destroying it lets you report the result to Khelebar.

Underkeep Tower is a separate obstacle. The Teleportation Stone does not open it, and the three Golden Keys from the Mausoleum do not apply. The tower's ancient seal requires four Key Fragments. A community walkthrough published on November 6, 2026 reports that Torin, a roaming adventurer near the tower, sells one fragment for 300 Gold. Using one fragment at the entrance causes the seal to respond, but the gate remains locked until the full set is placed.

The most common mistake an Underkeep guide can prevent is treating every key as universal. Keep Mausoleum keys and tower fragments as separate checklists. If you need Gold, the Dwarven Camp offers optional training: the same November 6, 2026 walkthrough lists Clear Hard Cave-ins at 30 Gold, with a heavy Pickaxe, and Mine Gold Veins at 40 Gold, with a chisel. These are separate purchases.

If you want a break from key hunting, Fangroot Forest adds optional routes. The Rat Nest leads to a Rat Queen encounter, while the Spider Cave contains the spider boss Arachneira. Barlo's five missing Mushroomlings can also be returned to the Mushroom Kin instead of Barlo; community notes report that this outcome grants Mushroom Bond.

Practical Underkeep Guide Tips for Exploration

Community player experience is clear on one point: Underkeep rewards slow exploration. The beginner guide by Dean the Game Alchemist recommends interacting with objects, talking to NPCs, reading tooltips, and checking the minimap often. Hidden buttons and seemingly impassable trails can lead to optional encounters or useful items.

Use the map's mark feature. Press M and left-click to write notes on tiles you want to revisit. Save before uncertain choices, and do not ignore passive skills. For accessibility, the same community guide notes that you can turn off camera shake and move/turn animations, and choose from several cursor styles.

One more tip from that player experience: rocks are worth watching. The guide hints that they matter in some puzzles without spelling out the solution, so experiment when a stone arrangement looks deliberate.

Underkeep Guide FAQ

What should I do first in Underkeep?

Create a four-character party, check equipment and assigned skills, then follow Whispers of the Underkeep through the starting forest and tunnels. Find the Silver Key, clear the burrowing enemies for Garric, and enter the village. Once there, speak with Mayor Aldren and Khelebar before choosing your next expedition.

How many Key Fragments open Underkeep Tower?

Four. The tower has its own seal, separate from the Mausoleum's three Golden Keys and the Teleportation Stone. One fragment is not enough, even though the lock reacts when you use it.

Do the three Golden Keys open Underkeep Tower?

No. The Golden Keys are for the Mausoleum Source Gate. The tower requires four Key Fragments. This Underkeep guide keeps those two key sets separate because mixing them up can send you back to old areas for no reason.

Is there an official Underkeep manual?

As of November 5, 2026, the underkeep.org guide hub reported that a full public manual had not been posted and that the developer planned to expand the in-game how-to-play book. Check the official Steam listing and the in-game help for the latest information.