Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="billd91" data-source="post: 3934766" data-attributes="member: 3400">I like a certain amount of puzzlers in the campaigns I play in, but it is true that there are issues with design that often come up that, I think, can be avoided.DMs often get pretty self-satisfied with the cleverness of their puzzles, without realizing they'll suck all the fun out of the session when the players find it unsolveable. The simple solution is to test it on other people you know who aren't playing in the current campaign.Puzzles block advancement of the adventure more often than they need too, without reasonably ready resources to overcome them. If time is pressing, have an alternate route around the puzzle or make it survivable to get through it the &quot;hard&quot; way. If time isn't pressing for the adventure, let them know that they can go get help or head off to consult someone. It may be a break in the action, but life is like that sometimes. Sometimes, you need to resupply and that applies to knowledge as well as consumables.I also like the solution of providing hints based on PC knowledges and intelligences. Make up a couple of hints that can be given out based on these factors, vague for lower skill levels, more specific for higher. Give the players about 10 minutes, then start allowing them to ask for hints. I always like to give them a bit of time to solve it clean. They end up being really proud of themselves if they solve a hard one that way.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="billd91, post: 3934766, member: 3400"] I like a certain amount of puzzlers in the campaigns I play in, but it is true that there are issues with design that often come up that, I think, can be avoided. DMs often get pretty self-satisfied with the cleverness of their puzzles, without realizing they'll suck all the fun out of the session when the players find it unsolveable. The simple solution is to test it on other people you know who aren't playing in the current campaign. Puzzles block advancement of the adventure more often than they need too, without reasonably ready resources to overcome them. If time is pressing, have an alternate route around the puzzle or make it survivable to get through it the "hard" way. If time isn't pressing for the adventure, let them know that they can go get help or head off to consult someone. It may be a break in the action, but life is like that sometimes. Sometimes, you need to resupply and that applies to knowledge as well as consumables. I also like the solution of providing hints based on PC knowledges and intelligences. Make up a couple of hints that can be given out based on these factors, vague for lower skill levels, more specific for higher. Give the players about 10 minutes, then start allowing them to ask for hints. I always like to give them a bit of time to solve it clean. They end up being really proud of themselves if they solve a hard one that way. [/QUOTE]

Verification