![]() But what if you have a couple of players that love puzzles and a couple of players that can’t stand them? That’s all well and good if you have a party with a uniform opinion on puzzles. If I’m playing with a group that loves them, I’ll layer a cipher on a mechanical puzzle, something like that,” Deborah said. “Generally, I try to keep puzzles relatively straightforward, unless I’m playing with a group that loves them. Not everyone’s brain is wired the same, so when you’re looking to incorporate puzzles in your game, it might be worth it to ask whether or not your party will enjoy them. This is a hard truth that DMs looking to work puzzles into their game may need to come to grips with. If they got a little bit of help, there’s no shame in that,” Deborah emphasized. “I want people to feel like they figured out. Deborah’s approach is always to give a hint when players make Intelligence or Investigation checks but “a higher roll results in a better hint.”Īt the end of the day, it’s essential to make your players feel like they were the ones to solve the puzzle. The second method is providing different levels of hints based on checks made while attempting to solve the puzzle. ![]() I always have layers upon layers upon layers of clues, and often, my party won’t find them all,” Deborah stated. “You don’t want your puzzle to be so opaque that there is no way to get it. The first is providing more hints than necessary, so even if your players don’t find all the clues, they have an idea of what to do. DMs who have run puzzles in the past can usually commiserate with the stomach-dropping feeling when your party decides, “This is too hard, let’s find another way.”ĭeborah expands on two methods that can be used to help mitigate players avoiding your puzzles. It should be giving an opportunity for your players to feel really smart,” Deborah stressed. “Puzzles are not about making your players feel stupid. Once you understand foundational puzzles, you’ll be able to mix and match them to create unique, rewarding experiences for your players time and time again! Have ways to help your players if they get stuckĭeborah expresses how imperative it is that puzzles are used to build your players up, not knock them down. you get the code by solving a riddle, but the riddle has gone through an alphabet cipher,” Deborah explains. Once you grasp these foundational puzzles, you can stack them on top of one another to create unique experiences each time they’re used. You can dress those up and layer them,” Deborah said. Let’s say there are a dozen basic puzzle mechanics. “The great thing about puzzles, like D&D, there are only a few basic mechanics. They can be universally applied to any theme, whether you’re in an ancient liches’ tomb or a wizard’s tower. Cryptographs, morse code, ciphers, and riddles are all excellent foundational puzzles to use in D&D. Deborah suggests learning the fundamentals of puzzle making first. Watch: Deborah Ann Woll on creating puzzlesĪdding puzzles to D&D can be a daunting task, and with so much creativity required, it can be challenging to figure out where to start. Have ways to help your players if they get stuck.So what insight on running puzzles in D&D does Deborah have to share with us? Find out below! Those that have watched Deborah play as DM know that she is adept at including thought-provoking puzzles in her games. She can usually be found DMing high-profile games for Wizards of the Coast or Geek and Sundry and has guest-starred on the second season of Critical Role. Deborah is known for playing Karen Page in Marvel’s Daredevil, The Defenders, and The Punisher series as well as Jessica Hamby on HBO’s True Blood. She's also a well-known member of the D&D community. We brought in expert DM and renowned puzzle mastermind Deborah Ann Woll (she/her) to give us some of her best tips on running puzzles in Dungeons & Dragons. ![]() How hard do you make the puzzle? What do you do if the players get stuck? Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything provides puzzles you can drop into your game, but what if you want to create a custom puzzle to fit your campaign? ![]() Successfully incorporating puzzles into your game is something many Dungeon Masters struggle with. ![]()
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