this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2024
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Why I don't use puzzles anymore (ttrpg.network)
submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 31 points 6 months ago (1 children)

On the contrary, puzzles can be half the fun, especially if your players are idiots

There is a Young Black Dragon in my world who was literally never meant to be a major issue for any players but currently has EIGHT player character deaths attributed to him, because the first (level 8) party TPKd when they tried to move deeper into his territory to ambush him after he stole one of their bags, and they all drowned in a bog (trying to help each other and the ones who went to help also getting into trouble). Then there was a oneshot where a second (level 5) party went to his lair to avenge the first one and they also TPK'd because he got a surprise round against them.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

"When I started here, all there was was swamp. Other players said I was daft to fight a dragon in a swamp, but I fought it all the same, just to show 'em. We sank into the swamp. So, we sent a second party. They sank into the swamp. So, we sent a third one. The dragon got a surprise round, burned us, then we sank into the swamp, but the fourth one... killed the dragon!"

[–] SkyezOpen 7 points 6 months ago

It sounds like you're just feeding adventurers to the dragon.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Also ITT: "You enter the room. A series of eight mirrors on the walls of the octagonal chamber, surround an elaborate fountain in the center of the room with an inscrip--"

"I break all the mirrors to see if anything is behind them."

"... ... fuck you."

[–] shneancy 17 points 6 months ago (1 children)

"the mirrors seem to be made out of a material you've never seen before, they don't budge" < do the puzzle you fuck approach

"the mirrors seem to be enchanted in some way, hitting them doesn't do anything" < i hope at least the wizard will want to do the fucking puzzle approach

"ok you do that :) the building around you begins shaking, you can see debris falling off the ceiling. The tales of the legendary "cool axe for murder sprees and hitting random objects" hidden in this area will need to be forgotten if you want to live, roll how much damage you took running away." < breaking weird objects in weird places will get you fucking killed, aka. fuck around and find out approach

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Eh. I dislike the “dungeon only works the way I want it to” solution, like the mirrors are unbreakable because that’s not what I wanted you to do with them.

In the other hand, having the players suddenly finding themselves in a boss fight with what was imprisoned in the mirror prison as soon as there’s an existing mirror isn’t facing another intact mirror? And then if they start winning or run away and get back to town, they get a surprise as soon as they go near a mirror? Until they figure out what was the special property that kept the beast in place in the chamber, how it was tricked into it in the first place and how to repeat the process? Fuckin a man. I had planned that you have to have one party member watching in the mirror guiding someone else to find the alcove in the opposite wall that can only be seen through one of the mirrors, but I like this way better; let’s rock.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Introduce the Hinter from Cultist Simulator lore just to mess with your players:

The Hinter are most comfortable behind. Behind the scenes, behind the mirrors, behind you. They can slide under doors and can kill with glass, but they cannot survive the gaze of a living mortal.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

Yeah. The inscription was instructions for how to use this room as a place of safety from them, because you can always see behind you in one or another of the mirrors. Now, when the players encounter them a very short time later, they'll have nowhere to go where they're not vulnerable.

I love it. Have fun guys! You may have difficulty in this dungeon starting soon.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

This is all sounding very close to a complex fractal stored only in the DMs mind. I think it's hard to blame the players for not figuring it out xD

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago

It's the Conan way.

[–] Jaderick 16 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

It’s a rite of passage to waste an hour of game time on a puzzle involving a locked door and a “thinking outside of the box” solution.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago

Sure the door is locked, but not the wall surrounding/next to it.

[–] teft 15 points 6 months ago

Isn't that how we solve every puzzle?

--the barbarian

[–] ummthatguy 12 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Anyone with some real world context?

[–] teft 20 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)
[–] ummthatguy 14 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for the info. Couldn't imagine having to fend off a leopard.

"...he bare-handedly strangled a leopard to death after the animal attacked his family"

[–] teft 12 points 6 months ago

Adrenaline is a hell of a drug.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago

Holy shit, I think I'd take more damage trying to get my house cat off his cat tree

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

If ever there were a self explanatory picture, this is it, I think 🙂

(I get you; knowing the guy's name or the area or etc would be nice. But I think the nature of what happened is abundantly clear.)

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago

Not at all. It never occurred to me that this guy killed a leopard with his bare hands. I assumed he was a poacher or hunter, and something had gone badly wrong on his hunt.

[–] computergeek125 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Gonna be honest I did not figure that one out.

I assumed he was part of a hunting party and had been injured separately.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

It was clear to me from his facial expression that he had wound up in a hand to hand fight with the leopard and this was the result. You are right that IDK anything beyond that until someone provided the article yes.