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Post by althalusredeemed on Mar 9, 2013 7:18:04 GMT -5
So, what are peoples' favourite puzzles? I have one I really like where there's a fake door painted on a wall and the real door is opposite it (but hidden). Add an obscure clue under a nearby piece of furniture or in a nearby book, and voila! instant brick wall to slow the players down!
Bonus points for putting the clue in a book on the bookshelf that is the secret door.
I normally have a clue about 'turning/reversing' or appearances being deceptive, but often my players get so hung up on the visible 'door' they don't think outside the box for a while. I love their faces when they figure it out though, it makes it all worthwhile. (Note this isn't meant in a Chaotic Evil way, I genuinely enjoy watching my players figure out a devious puzzle).
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griffonwing
Tool Gatherer
Suave swabby, savvy?
Posts: 97
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Post by griffonwing on Mar 10, 2013 2:33:12 GMT -5
The party come across a large chest near the end of the adventure. No matter what the party thief does, he cannot get it to open. He succeeds on his open lock, and indeed, unlocks the lock, but the lid will not move.
If he states that he is going to study the chest, not jsut the lock, he makes high DC check to realize that two parts of the filigree artwork on each side of the lock are disguised hinges. If he turns the chest around, the "back" of the chest against the wall is where the real lock is.
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Post by althalusredeemed on Mar 10, 2013 17:32:46 GMT -5
Ooh, I like that! How about a lock on a door that's already unlocked, but if the lock is picked, a trap is activated (gas, poison darts, pit)? That's so evil it makes me want to cry...
Or an unlocked door that is really rusty. Needs a lot of strength to force. However, it's got a big obvious lock on the front. Trying to pick it will lock the door, so it needs to be unlocked again first before it can be forced open!
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griffonwing
Tool Gatherer
Suave swabby, savvy?
Posts: 97
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Post by griffonwing on Mar 10, 2013 18:53:34 GMT -5
Ooh, I like that! How about a lock on a door that's already unlocked, but if the lock is picked, a trap is activated (gas, poison darts, pit)? That's so evil it makes me want to cry... Or an unlocked door that is really rusty. Needs a lot of strength to force. However, it's got a big obvious lock on the front. Trying to pick it will lock the door, so it needs to be unlocked again first before it can be forced open! Better yet, one that I pulled on my first group. It was in conjunction with the back-side lock. The "back" of the chest actually had 3 locks. The lockplates were a circle, diamond and triange. Naturally, they looked for keys in the area, namely the Archbishop and Cardinals room were 2 of them, the third was elsewhere. Anyway, the thief unlocked the first one, then went to unock the second one, which, when it unlocked, locked the first one again. Regardless of which order the keys turned, it would unlock the other two. The secret was to have all 3 keys turning in tandem. Meaning, that the only way to open the chest 'without' the keys was to have 3 thieves pick their locks simultaneously. Nigh impossible, especially with cramped working conditions.
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argiope
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 138
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Post by argiope on Apr 4, 2013 10:26:55 GMT -5
This week I ran a puzzle - riddle that worked very well in that it engaged all the players and they were able to solve it in about 15 minutes...long enough to seem a challenge but short enough not to drag the game down. Premise of the puzzle is that player character buys home that has a secret portal to the basement workshop. Once the portal is open you walk up the stairs to go down into the basement. However to open the portal you have to align the runes correctly on the top and bottom bannister. On the bannisters of the stairs that go up to the second floor are carvings of runes in infernal. One of the character actually knows that language but a read language spell would also give them the key. Exploration of the bannister reveals that there are 4 rows of carvings that can be rotated around the bannister like a rubrics cube. As you rotate the row and align the runes into various combinations. The trick is to make the puzzle spell out a variety of words so they are unsure which words to spell out. A riddle found in a old unsent letter gives them the clues. TL;DR align runes on bannister to open portal to hidden room Attachments:
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argiope
Paint Manipulator
Posts: 138
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Post by argiope on Apr 4, 2013 10:30:42 GMT -5
Here is the key to the runes (runes in red were top bannister, runes in brown were bottom bannister). I found some cool free fonts for Word and printed them out and cut them into strips so the players could line them up as they wish to represent them turning the cubes and aligning the runes. Before the sorcerer attempted to read it the other players spent 5 minutes aligning the runes based upon patterns....once they had the key and could translate the runes they realized all the words that could be made. The riddles that give the clue to which exact words to use- The chill of its death, Thee may soon mourn. But though it dies, It cannot be born. --------------------- Ten trolls' strength, Ten trolls' length, One troll can pick it up, No troll can stand it up. Attachments:
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Post by twistedmage on Apr 4, 2013 16:35:37 GMT -5
Not a puzzle of my own but I plan to use it: placeing mirrors through out a dungeon with only one light source and there is a door on the other side of said dungeon around several corners that only light from the light source can unlock the door players will have to use the mirrors to direct the light and if the pass through the beam of light they take burn damage
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griffonwing
Tool Gatherer
Suave swabby, savvy?
Posts: 97
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Post by griffonwing on Apr 10, 2013 3:00:53 GMT -5
Not so much a puzzle, but an effect that is puzzling, and might halt the players for a bit. if anything, a puzzle could be added somehow.
A long corridor stretches in front of the PCs. There are 5 mirrors on each side of the 10ft wide hallway. In between each mirror is a torch in a sconce. The corridor is lit by flickering light, but the torches in the hallway are unlit. The flickering light comes from the mirrors. Looking into the mirrors, the torches in the reflections are lit.
Hrmm..as a puzzle, perhaps this. If one were to light a torch, the reflected torch would be extinguished. Maybe there is a mystical combination of lit/unlit torches that triggers an effect, such as a reflected doorway that is not in the corridor. With the right combination, one part of the wall fades to show a door. Hrmm.
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Post by xxXEliteXxx on Jul 15, 2013 22:07:48 GMT -5
Not so much a puzzle, but an effect that is puzzling, and might halt the players for a bit. if anything, a puzzle could be added somehow. A long corridor stretches in front of the PCs. There are 5 mirrors on each side of the 10ft wide hallway. In between each mirror is a torch in a sconce. The corridor is lit by flickering light, but the torches in the hallway are unlit. The flickering light comes from the mirrors. Looking into the mirrors, the torches in the reflections are lit. Hrmm..as a puzzle, perhaps this. If one were to light a torch, the reflected torch would be extinguished. Maybe there is a mystical combination of lit/unlit torches that triggers an effect, such as a reflected doorway that is not in the corridor. With the right combination, one part of the wall fades to show a door. Hrmm. Love it! I used this is a recent session. Worked like a charm and the players loved it! Thank you, Kind Sir, for posting about this puzzle. This is the script that I came up with for this: As you walk into the 40 foot hallway you immediately notice that the room is lined with an alternating pattern of torches and mirrors. On your left side, the pattern is as follows:
Torch, mirror, torch, mirror, torch, mirror, torch, mirror.
On your right side, the pattern is offset by one:
Mirror, torch, mirror, torch, mirror, torch, mirror, torch.
None of the torches are lit. However, a glow is coming from the mirrors. As you peer into the mirrors you notice that, in the reflection, the torches are all lit!
Above each of the torches in the reflection, there is a number written in red. These numbers are as follows: On the left side:
1 0 1 0.
On the right side:
0 0 1 1.
To your immediate left, on the wall, there is two tinder boxes, each containing 4 friction-combustible wooden splints (matches).
Below the boxes there is a bucket of crystal-clear, pristine water.
The players had to light the torches with the 0's above them so that they would be off in the reflection. They ended up with all of the 1's in the reflection lit, that opened up a secret door that then led them into a room with two chests. I told the players that they could sense that one of the two chests was a trap, but you didn't know which one it was!
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OddBard
Cardboard Collector
Raven Queen's Minion
Posts: 2
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Post by OddBard on Jul 16, 2013 22:49:23 GMT -5
These are great! I am planning, in my next adventure, to do an offshoot of the Dragon Puzzle that DM Scotty used, except revolved around the phases of water(ice, air, water) instead of colored gems. The goal being to get all of the orbs to turn into water, so that the door unlocks. If they get it wrong, either ice spikes or hot steam comes out of a hole in the center. It's pretty easy to dodge, but it does add some danger that the players won't be entirely prepared for. Puzzles that I absolutely loathe are any that include anagrams. They take forever to figure out, especially with a plot/action oriented group like mine, and they become boring very quickly. One of our DM's used two anagrams in his last quest, one as a puzzle, and the other was the main villain's name. DX It was gross. Don't use anagrams. Unless you can do them well.
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thedmg
Room Planner
Posts: 327
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Post by thedmg on Jul 17, 2013 5:01:25 GMT -5
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