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<blockquote data-quote="Henry" data-source="post: 5898053" data-attributes="member: 158">You may have missed his whole &quot;hopeless with puzzles&quot; part. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> &quot;Know the players&quot; is the best course here, I think. It's why books like Hamlet's Hit Points and Robin's laws make really good reading for a Game Master, I think -- knowing the emotional &quot;on&quot; switch for each separate gamer at your table is paramount to having a good time. If at least one or two players at your table love puzzles and are good at them, throw one in for them -- but give a way around it through force or an alternate route for the sake of the rest of the group. Good example: the Sphinx at the entry-way for White Plume Mountain:[sblock]She is a Sphinx with a classic riddle, blocking with a wall of force; however, the wall of force can be brought down with sufficient damage, and the Sphinx is not insurmountable, so the party can either solve the riddle and pass, or waste resources plowing through both Wall and Sphinx if needed - which conveniently placates the &quot;desire for combat&quot; lovers in case the puzzle solver can't deliver on his part of the deal.[/sblock]Do you have RP-Heavy players in the group? Be sure to involve them in local politics, or offer them a tough moral choice in play; be sure to balance this in that any roleplay that shifts focus disproportionately long off of the rest of the group can be handled out of session, by email, or what have you.In summary: Know your players.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Henry, post: 5898053, member: 158"] You may have missed his whole "hopeless with puzzles" part. :) "Know the players" is the best course here, I think. It's why books like Hamlet's Hit Points and Robin's laws make really good reading for a Game Master, I think -- knowing the emotional "on" switch for each separate gamer at your table is paramount to having a good time. If at least one or two players at your table love puzzles and are good at them, throw one in for them -- but give a way around it through force or an alternate route for the sake of the rest of the group. Good example: the Sphinx at the entry-way for White Plume Mountain: [sblock] She is a Sphinx with a classic riddle, blocking with a wall of force; however, the wall of force can be brought down with sufficient damage, and the Sphinx is not insurmountable, so the party can either solve the riddle and pass, or waste resources plowing through both Wall and Sphinx if needed - which conveniently placates the "desire for combat" lovers in case the puzzle solver can't deliver on his part of the deal. [/sblock] Do you have RP-Heavy players in the group? Be sure to involve them in local politics, or offer them a tough moral choice in play; be sure to balance this in that any roleplay that shifts focus disproportionately long off of the rest of the group can be handled out of session, by email, or what have you. In summary: Know your players. [/QUOTE]

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