hi guys!, question about puzzle encounters

[magrichad]

hi guys

i am new to this forum but i have been enjoying the post of all you other guys. I am new to DM'ing but i have been a player for a couple of years now. Our party plays D&D 3.5 and we got 3 pc's atm. I am creating my first adventure atm and so far so good, the party is going to be a lv 1 sorc, bard and a fighter. But atm i am getting stuck about some fun puzzles to keep the pc's busy for a while. The setting is in a old magical dungeon, and i would like to get some ideas about puzzles, tnx for checking this out, and please give me some feedback.

grz magrichad

 

[mrtauntaun]

What kinds of puzzles do you think they'll enjoy? I've have varied success with different kinds, but it depends on the group. Do they like riddles and the like? Or more of a trap/puzzle kind of thing?
I love riddles, one group I played with went through a dungeon full of doors that needed riddles answered before they opened. Worked well, but did not in the very next group I played with. So, my advice is to cater to your platers styles, else they may get bored with the tedium.

As for a good puzzle, I ran across one that had a black door, with an intricately carved face on it. Above the door read a sign 'The word is Cthulhu'
The door actually talks, and will engage the players in conversation. The trick is to get the door to say the word, Cthulhu. There are many ways of doing this, I made the doo semi-intelligent in mine, so he wouldn't say it if they asked 'What's the word?'
A few different ways include getting the door so mad at them for not figuring it out he says it out of anger, getting him to sound out parts of the word, etc. There are lots of ways, reward your players for ther ingenuity.
One of the most creative ways I saw this overcome (not mine) was a knock knock joke:

Player: Knock knock
Door: who's there?
Player: Chtul
Door: Chtul-who?

Click....

 

[NCSUCodeMonkey]

What kinds of puzzles do you think they'll enjoy? I've have varied success with different kinds, but it depends on the group. Do they like riddles and the like? Or more of a trap/puzzle kind of thing?
I love riddles, one group I played with went through a dungeon full of doors that needed riddles answered before they opened. Worked well, but did not in the very next group I played with. So, my advice is to cater to your platers styles, else they may get bored with the tedium.

Excellent advice. I would add that you should always make puzzles simple and straightforward. For riddles, use common things such as light, shadow, gold, war, etc. as the answers. For puzzles, use common themes that are well understood, such as the months of the year or time. And always try to relate the puzzle/riddle back to the context of the adventure. I've used irrelevant or convulted puzzles in adventures before, and all it does is frustrate the PCs.

Another thing that works well is to present the PCs with a puzzle that has no set solution, but that is fun to play out. For example, I've had a game where the players had to put on a play for a sultan. They made up their own plot, setting, etc. There was no right answer, but they had a blast acting it out.

Hope that helps!

NCSUCodeMonkey