D&D puzzles can be great fun and they are a nice challenge for PCs of any level. But your puzzles need to match the PCs’ strength. And that’s where things can get a little tricky. It is especially annoying when high level characters use their near limitless powers to circumvent a puzzle you spent hours … Read more

Using Puzzles in Dungeons and Dragons can be a great way to switch things up. But dungeon masters do need to match their puzzles to players skill level and experience. You don’t want to just design any clever puzzle, but a puzzle that is just right for your players. Fortunately most players really like puzzles … Read more

Using Gears and levers in your Dungeons & Dragons puzzles is a sure party favorite. Mechanical D&D puzzles even ranked fourth in our survey of best puzzles. The basics of mechanical puzzle design are simple. You pull a lever or turn a dial and something changes that brings the party one step closer to their … Read more

Bad D&D puzzles are unfortunately very common. And they are usually something the DM enjoys but the players do not. Still it’s fun reading about the terrible, dare I say merciless,  ideas DMs come up with to torment their players. And you learn what not to do. So let’s get into it. 8. Puzzles that … Read more

There is something about graveyards that just screams Dungeons and Dragons. Maybe it’s all the undead in D&D. Maybe it’s all the dungeons that fit so nicely beneath a graveyard. In any case, it just works. But what about using puzzles in a graveyard? Well, that also works great. So here are a couple of … Read more

The light and mirror puzzle is a classic found in many fantasy computer games. But will they work just as well in your D&D game? The short answer is yes. You can simply copy and paste light and mirror puzzles from your computer game and put them in your D&D game. Players activate the light … Read more

Since the beginning of Dungeons and Dragons an eternal war between good and evil, light and darkness has been brewing in the multiverse. It certainly has been the backdrop for – dare I say – most old school D&D campaigns? But how do light and darkness work in Dungeons and Dragons, and how can you … Read more

When you introduce puzzles into your Dungeons and Dragons game, you want to make sure your players actually enjoy solving them. Chess puzzles have been popular for hundreds of years, so it stands to reason your players would enjoy them as well. Or do they? I set up a little experiment to test which type … Read more

So your dungeon master decided to throw a puzzle at your party. And now it is up to your group to solve it. But where do you start? Here are my top tips for solving puzzles in Dungeons and Dragons. 1. Share the puzzle with the whole table The number one mistake I see players … Read more

In Dungeons and Dragons most of the game mechanics are oriented towards combat. But D&D offers a wide assortment of non-combat challenges to add variety to your game. In fact, the Dungeon Master Guide mentions three pillars of adventuring: The first is combat. But the second and third are social interaction and exploration. You could … Read more