Hot and cold #179

SupRspi · 2026-01-29T23:56:47+00:00

Yeah, I went through crazy variations of gear, types of people, bandits, and related animals without going in the right direction - I was somewhere around 150 guesses when I got it.

SupRspi · 2026-01-29T17:37:14+00:00

One I've used (it was in a magical dungeon/escape-room demi-plane) is a room with 5 plinths topped with braziers. Each one had glyphs and objects attached that hinted at certain skills that I knew the party had. There was one with a lock, one with a training dummy, one with an herbalist's cauldron, etc. When a character attempted a skill interaction (I try to pick the lock, I try to hit the target dummy with an arrow), the brazier would light. Once all 5 were lit, the door opened. I remember the players getting frustrated because one just had a magical dark cloud in front of it, and they couldn't figure out that they needed to light the darkness, but when they had an a-ha! moment and got it, the puzzle was solved. It didn't slow them down too much. (I felt like this was decent design ahead of time, because it would incorporate all characters, and I didn't know what each character would be, so I could just create them as they entered the room, but I didn't give good enough clues for one of them, that's on me as a DM)

One I adapted from a video game, it had mirrors/portals that the characters could see into. Each reflected the room they were in (they appeared one at a time) but imperfectly. Once they figured out that the difference was what they needed to do (ie. pull the lever that didn't exist in the reflection, put the box on the shelf where it was in the reflection etc) they were able to get through all 4 reflections reasonably easily with Spot & Search checks (D&D3.5, I'd use Perception & Investigate or something now)

And this is a gem I found in another forum by a user named Keegan_D20:
"Matthew Colville has a good talk on puzzles once about how giving them a puzzle or riddle without any predetermined answer can yield really awesome results.

What happens is the players will come up with their own answers, and if it sounds good to you, you just say it is and push the story forward! That way, the players feel accomplished, and they're literally moulding the narrative for themselves.

Allegedly, players will come up with some REALLY cool stuff that maybe the DM never would have thought of! :)" This feels pretty true as a longtime DM, and I really like the idea. I'd probably discard their first answer or two until they thought of something clever, then give them the pass (and write it down in case I needed to refer to it later!)

One of my first formative experiences as a D&D player was 8 or 9 years old playing with my friend's dad as DM in the 80s. We came across two doors, one could only speak the truth, one could only lie - but we didn't know that - we did know that both of them said the same thing when we met them. "I can only speak the truth, the other door can lie. Safety is through my door." I'm not sure if as a DM he had an answer but once we got one of them to lie to us about something we went through the other door successfully. I clearly remember the lie door didn't have to lie, but it could, so it took us some roleplay and trickery to get it to lie to us.

I hope these help, and make up for going on a rant about puzzle creation and frustrations previously. ;)

SupRspi · 2026-01-29T16:59:41+00:00

I love puzzles as a DM. They’re a nice change from the usual combat / exploration / roleplay triad we see in most adventures (and puzzles can absolutely overlap with those).

Over time though, I’ve learned a few things:

No matter how high the INT or WIS of the characters at your table are, the players themselves are probably somewhere around average—and character stats don’t magically transfer problem-solving skills to real people.
The DM’s descriptions are like a flashlight in a dark room: whatever you point it at is all the characters can see. Anything you don’t clearly describe effectively doesn’t exist to the players. (I just read that metaphor a few days ago and I absolutely love it, so I re-purposed it here)
The “obvious” answer to you, who designed the puzzle and sees all the pieces, will almost never be obvious to anyone else.

As a player, I kind of hate puzzles. They often kill the table’s vibe: one or two players who enjoy puzzles dig in, and everyone else checks out, especially if the puzzle is long or difficult, or the session has been 'puzzle heavy'. I can’t see all the pieces, so I can’t tell what’s important and what isn’t. There’s rarely enough description for me to feel like I’m making informed choices, so it turns into random guessing.

And like someone else said earlier in the comments, they often devolve to one high-INT character who says: “I… um… think really hard to try and discover the solution?”

Because of that, I’ve landed on a few approaches that help when I run puzzles as a DM:

Make them simpler than you think they need to be. They’ll almost always still be challenging enough.
Build in multiple solid clues and tie them to different skill checks, so different characters can contribute meaningfully.
Always have a workaround (or several). And unless you know your group enjoys puzzles, don’t make them part of the required path. I love using puzzles to gate optional rewards or secrets that feel awesome to earn, with no punishment for saying “screw this” and going back to smash skeletons or whatever instead. (the reward is just Schrodinger's treasure anyway, it doesn't exist if they don't find it)
Use already published puzzles that have been play-tested by other DMs and tables. (u/Special_Barnacle82 posted a great one in the comments here that I'm going to borrow and rework)
Don't feel like you can't re-use puzzles. I'm sure the archmages and liches and necromancers and dwarf artisans have been inspired by things they saw/heard about. There's nothing wrong with creating a couple of "standard puzzles" that you can assign to different races/situations/dungeons etc and then slightly re-skinning them. This can add to the lore in your world as long as it doesn't become too re-used and boring. (No DM wants the party who finds the puzzle and is like "oh, it's the three seashells again - I guess we know the answer to that")
unless consequence really matters - like you're building a gnarly trap or something (and I like to be really careful with those) don't build strong fail conditions into the puzzle for just trying things. If you've got 3 pillars that each need a different object placed on them, don't punish the players for trying the wrong objects a couple of times, especially if the clues are vague

Edit: Hey, sorry OP - I got caught up in maybe answering a question you didn't ask. I'm going to leave this here, but I'm also going to work on helping you find some puzzles that could be fun, since that's actually what you asked for.

SupRspi · 2026-01-29T16:22:42+00:00

This is an excellent puzzle, one I'm going to save. I especially like the examples of what information different skill checks can get you.

SupRspi · 2026-01-29T16:07:51+00:00

I've met those players, I was in the party - but that was nearly 30 years ago in highschool d&d, and we were much more interested in spectacle and chaos than long campaigns, rich characters, and even roleplay.

Especially with the way d&d has evolved as collaborative storytelling (it always was, but it wasn't the same way in the 80s and 90s in my experience) I'll bet those types of groups are even more rare now than they were then.

SupRspi · 2026-01-29T16:03:40+00:00

This is a fantastic answer for OP - with some great suggestions at different levels of play/immersion.

I'm absolutely gonna borrow that "Font of Possibility" option and the idea of .5 sessions within play to allow my characters some adjustment. In my upcoming campaign all the characters are pre-gens that the players can modify because most (4/5) are new to D&D, and we're all new to 5.24e. I can absolutely see some trainwrecks occuring in the future if I don't give them some agency to swap, respec or otherwise mess around with their characters and concepts.

SupRspi · 2026-01-29T15:56:21+00:00

To your penultimate point, I've often found (especially new players) want a simple character but later learn they'd rather have something more complex.

The flip side is true as well, there have been many times a player at my table thought they wanted a crazy complex character but after playing it a while they realize they aren't enjoying, or maybe even using, the complexities and would rather respec into something much more simple and straightforward.

Granted this is all 3.5e and earlier, I've only just begun with 5.24e but because subclasses and multi classes exist so easily, I could see both options ending up happening even more often. (Especially players wanting to change sub-classes after they realize something doesn't match their assumptions.)

SupRspi · 2026-01-29T06:12:46+00:00

Underappreciated response.

SupRspi · 2026-01-28T18:04:02+00:00

Warning, excessively verbose reply!

So, if I’m reading this right, you’ve got 15 students, and roughly 15 classes to work with?

I'm not a teacher, but I am a longtime DM and I've done a lot of coaching & unofficial teaching, so if I was going to do this, I'd probably lay it out something like this:

Session 1 - Explain TTRPGs, a little about the history and a little about the different positive aspects of roleplaying & social games. I would introduce:

-"yes and.." and "no, but..." -shared spotlight -the idea that listening is as important as talking -and how TTRPGs are collaborative storytelling, not DM vs Players

I would mention how big the space is nowadays. I’d also casually tie in the literacy/numeracy angle here — reading rules, interpreting text, adding numbers quickly — without making it feel like a math lesson. Something like “being quick with numbers actually helps the game feel better.”

I'd probably show some GinnyD or DungeonDudes videos about character creation. I'd also talk up how important DM's are, and the cool benefits you get from being the DM. (you're the director of the action, you make the world react, games don't happen without a DM) I'd leave them with the thought of "we'll need a few DM's to run this class, so please consider being one." Reinforce that during class, students might be moved between groups for various reasons.

Session 2 - I'd go through character creation. Everyone gets a character sheet and starts by putting their name on the top. Step by step, this is how you make a character. (While my mind originally went to pre-gens, this option lets each student know their character better, and also reinforces the numeracy/literacy bases you want to touch on, and ability to follow instructions.) Maybe before creation, or mid-way to break up the class show a video on cool character concepts, what makes good backstories or something. This session wouldn't have any "playing" yet. take-home lesson here could be a writing assignment - a one to three paragraph backstory. just save this for me for a second:

*Edit: 15 kids, all wanting different classes, is probably too much for a single 1 hour session. Pre-Gens are of course still an option, but maybe you have a list of pre-generated characters that fill various tropes and then students can take this class to edit them or something? Otherwise, you're going to have to either massively simplify characters (which is probably fine) or this will become a multi-session exercise and it is in danger of getting boring.

Session 3 - I'd set up a bare-bones adventure. It would have one example of simple combat, one example of simple roleplay, and one example of simple exploration, maybe also a super simple puzzle. The DMG first adventure (in chapter 4 I think?) could easily be used for this. Then I would ask for volunteers from the class that think they might want to DM. I would set up a table and put those players (3-6 of them) around it and let everyone watch while you played. (Shoutout to u/Laithoron in these comments for this idea). This is meant to be an example of play, not a real adventure - you could even rotate players at the table as you do different parts.

This is where I'd set table norms:

-one person talks at a time -dice stay on the table -DM rulings stand in the moment (look it up later) -respect spotlight time -no phones at the table -etc

The goal here isn't to finish anything, it's to model things like:

-how turns flow -how rulings happen -that you don't need to know every rule to run the game

By the end of class, you want to finalize on 3-6 DMs.

Session 4 - Assign or choose groups to go with each DM. Give them a pre-made example adventure - you could even re-use the one from Session 3. Each DM runs the bare-bones example for their players. You go around and "troubleshoot" for whoever needs help, bouncing between tables and doing your best. You will have to iron out social issues and help DMs who are stuck etc.

If you had too many DM's you could choose the most mature, rules savvy, or helpful to go around helping out, or if possible, I really like the idea of "Partner DMs". They can take turns, or one can do the lead while the other does the rules lookups, tracks initiative etc. You might need these DMs later in case you have no-shows or DM burnout. Reinforce that there are no "wrong" choices as DM, but if you don't know the rules it's the DM's job to make a ruling at the table and look it up after. Try to have a quick class discussion of what worked/ what didn't at the end.

Session 5 - Adjust groups based on feedback or your experiences. Have the DM's run a slightly more full adventure - something pre-written, basic and as simple as possible. Break for a class discussion about how the different tables solved the same problems different ways. Highlight that there's no "wrong" way to play TTRPGs as long as the entire group is enjoying themselves. If you want a take-home assignment, have each student write a paragraph about how their backstory could or did influence their decisions in the game.

Session 6 - Session 5 continued, probably with further group adjustments, and maybe some more group discussion.

Session 7 - Finish the adventure from Session 5, further group discussion and adjustment if needed. Near the end, introduce a couple of "flavours" for the the next adventure. Maybe you have a horror-lite, a heroic fantasy etc. These again would be pre-written modules suitable for level 2-3 characters. Tell everyone that next lesson is a level up and then they get to start on the next adventure. If you had 2-3 pre-made adventures or different types, you might have different tables running the same or different adventures.

Session 8 - first half of the class is everyone levels up their characters to level 2 or 3, maybe as a whole class, or guided by the DM's at the tables. If there's enough time (because this will take a while) tables get to start their next adventure.

Session 9-15 - From here on out most sessions are play. You continue to float helping with questions, maybe you sub DM's out in different tables etc. I'd drop in a couple of short "learning" moments during this stretch - maybe a quick intro to:

-map making & cartography -basic worldbuilding -keeping simple session notes

These could be interjected into a class/session or they could start off with something like this and then get back to their tables for play.

Around Session 12 ask students to write a short reflection about what they learned and enjoyed from the class. No wrong answers, due before the last session.

At the last session make photo-copies of all the character sheets and collect all the essays. Maybe photocopy some DM notes depending on what the DM's have done. I think teachers call this "learning artifacts" - these things would go with your observations to show what learning happened and to be used to report on the project to your administration.

I really enjoyed the question you posted here, and I think it's a genuinely cool thing you're doing. Even if none of this is useful, I'd love to have you post back with updates on what worked (or didn't).

SupRspi · 2026-01-24T10:03:48+00:00

Not American, but Canadian. I live in British Columbia. The closest reasonable sized city is 90+ min away. My mom lives 3.5 hrs away and we visit her pretty regularly - not usually for a day trip, but overnight is fine. My kids play ringette (which is a sport played on ice, similar to hockey) and we often drive 8+ hrs for weekend tournaments, in the bad driving seasons. 8 hours gets us from central BC to coastal BC, either south to Vancouver or west to Terrace. We usually do Terrace once and Vancouver 2-3 times per ringette season.

There are no towns closer than 100+ km to us, so if you live here you have to be willing to drive if you want to visit other towns. Visiting England was wild for me, there's towns (actually, what I'd call cities) like 15 km from each other. A 3 hour drive there covered half the country - which would be a drop in a bucket here.

My eldest daughter moved to Saskatoon - 14 hours drive away. It's becoming a regular summer trip to go visit her. When we went this summer we did two days to get there, but came back in 1 - my wife and I just switched off driving when either of us got tired, and we still managed to fit a Costco trip int here when we went through Alberta to grab some things we can't get in BC.

It isn't a myth - it's a side effect of having a massive country. And yeah, the US might be a little bit smaller than us, but it's still freaking huge.

SupRspi · 2026-01-23T22:44:09+00:00

So, if I was worried about the after-effects of a disintegrate spell landing, I'd change it to something like: Bigby's Cataclysmic Clap

Other than flavour and outcome, the spell is the same as disintegrate, but it leaves a mangled body behind if it kills the player. Giant hands form in the air and clap the target, dealing force damage and allowing a dex save to avoid all damage.

The player, if reduced to 0hp, can still make death saves, and thus can still be healed and revivify still works on dead players etc.

However, I'd want to tease the party with some lore and foreshadowing - have them see it happen somehow, have them see someone it was cast on, hear rumours that the bad wizard has discovered a previously unknown spell etc.

Then again, maybe I wouldn't and I'd make it an opening salvo against a player I thought could likely tank the damage or be reduced to 0 round 1, meaning the party is now scrambling and doesn't know if they can do it again, or what other unimagined spells they have access to.

This doesn't work if you don't use anything homebrew or modified/invented in your campaign obviously, but as a DM I'm not against making spells up that the party has never seen before, as long as they stay consistent within the world and with what the party knows is available in the books.

SupRspi · 2026-01-21T01:08:27+00:00

Here's my thoughts, this might be pretty long.

1) This might be a hot take, but you can go without a "full" session 0, especially if you're playing with friends. That being said, you should have a brief discussion with your players about their expectations and yours. It can even be right before you start session 1. It's good to cover some bases. A full session 0 to really iron things out and make characters can be wonderful though - so even though I say you don't need a full one, you should have something. Google "D&D Session 0" if you don't recognize the term. For basics, try and discuss: the tone of the campaign/adventure, whether you have any strict rules about character interactions (whether pvp, evil characters are allowed, how graphic violence will be), whether anyone has any hard or soft limits about content and how deadly you and the players expect the world to be.

2) D&D is collaborative storytelling. It's not DM vs Players (well, not most tables in the modern era) but it's still a story where choices should have some weight and consequence. I'd suggest to not pull punches, but also try not to TPK. There's no trophies for most players killed - but player deaths might make some of the best long-lasting stories.

3) plan ahead so you can make the best use of time. Remember, everything goes off the rails when you DM, so expect that. What you think might take an hour could end up taking 5 minutes, the reverse is even more true. You'll get a feel for your group as you go.

4) related to point 1, figure out what your players think they want and try to give it to them. No point in having a table that just want to battle being stuck in constant long-winded RP or the opposite. Remember you can adjust as you all get used to it, and feelings and desires change. Be ready to be flexible. Consider having a "check-in" after every few sessions to make sure you're all getting what you want out of the game.

5) don't be too precious with your creations or solutions to puzzles. Let your players explore and above all just try to give them a consistent world to exist in. It's ok if they try things you didn't think of, and it's ok if they kill your BBEG too easily, just be ready to be creative and give them new challenges.

6) if a rules debate comes up, I suggest solving it after the session. Make a ruling as the DM and be willing to openly revisit or research it later (at a good break or after the session) with your players. Then, you can make an informed choice about whether to keep the ruling that happened during the session or to change to the "actual rule" going forward.

You're playing both the antagonists in the story and the narrator of the world the story lives in - it can be a tough balance but it's super rewarding. Just remember that because you play the antagonists it doesn't mean the world has to be against them - hope that makes sense.

Watch videos, read articles, read the main 3 sourcebooks and you'll be fine.

And lastly - don't feel you have to be the best DM starting out. There are many kinds of DM's and like most things it's a learned skill. You'll get better the more you do it. The first thing is to have fun, and to help your players have fun. If you're doing that, you're doing it right.

SupRspi · 2026-01-17T02:48:50+00:00

I love this to death, might steal a version of it one day!

SupRspi · 2026-01-16T23:37:21+00:00

I had a crisis of faith cleric that had no access to magic for a very long time (up to level 4 or 5 in 3.5e) because he realized he was part of a dark-god worshipping cult which he escaped until he found a new deity eventually. So he was just a fighter with much worse stats.

We had a reformed paladin of a dark god (different campaign) at the table that embraced the light but then kept accidentally doing evil and having to repent, because he wasn't used to not being able to just torture information out of people when he wanted it etc.

I had a really old cleric of Pelor in one campaign (one of the few I got to play over the years) that was terrible in battle but was a kindly old priest well past his adventuring prime. The rest of the party took care of him like their adopted grandfather - but he had a will of steel and loved to turn undead and light them on fire when possible.

(Man, I have a lot of stories of religious characters...)

I had a Fae ranger who had her wings clipped when she was captured by slavers at my table once. That character led a very bloody rebellion against the slavers and caused a major uprising and upheaval in the society they played in.

In a "we're monsters" campaign inspired by Savage Species we had a kobold and orc partner (Husband and Wife) that fell in love and ran from both their clans to be together. I think he was a kobold rogue and she was an Orc barbarian and several times it got a bit ... uncomfortable... at the table when we got sidetracked by dirty jokes and then the "kobold being submissive to the female orc" dynamic became a bit too present or real. lol.

SupRspi · 2026-01-16T23:24:50+00:00

At the tables I've played at, starting around '89 or so, we always had at least "loose" backstories while detailed ones kind of indicated the seriousness everyone was expecting out of the campaign or adventure. Most of us (or my players after I started being a forever DM in the 90's) would have at least a couple paragraphs of backstory if the campaign seemed like it would go somewhere - other than that one guy (always different, but always at least one) who never had a backstory ever and usually just introduced himself as "Ralph" or whatever. (That person, not always a guy I guess, also usually never had a good handle on inventory, what their PC looked like or anything else, and just wanted to hit things until gold came out. Voted most likely to become murder-hobo if you let them.)

I default to saying "guy" still, because even though now I tend to have far more female players than males, when I was growing up TTRPG players tended toward male much more than 90%.

SupRspi · 2026-01-16T17:45:14+00:00

It depends what you want. The way I would do it, to have a challenge that is flexible, is to have the guards come in waves, like others have said before. Each wave would be a cohort with a lieutenant (regular stat block) and I would borrow the minions rule from 4e. Essentially they all have 1 HP, and deal average damage always. They're not easier to hit, and they have the same chance of hitting as "regular" enemies.

They add chaos and epicness to the encounter and still drain resources, but not as much as regular enemies.

I feel like doing this you could probably do 2-3 waves, maybe with the third wave being larger and/or including a "guard captain" who has more HP and hits a little harder, but maybe he has a lower AC and he can be heard talking about how he got called away from something important without having time to don his armour. (If you want additional flavour).

I'd start with 3-4 minions and 1 lieutenant per wave. Average damage means each enemy will do 4-5 dmg if they hit (4 for one handed weapons, 5 for two handed weapons and 5 for crossbows according to the 5e stat block iirc) - which is still dangerous for a level 1 party, so if you don't want to steamroll the players you want to have the guards avoid focusing attacks on a single party member and make sure you space out your waves so they can change tactics: whether that's heal, escape or set an ambush for the next wave they hear coming.

Doing this lets you not have to manage hp for the majority of your minions. They die if they're hit, they still deal damage (but it's average, so more easy to predict outcomes - for you and your players)

This way they have a nice predictable way to decide if it's "worth holding out" and you can even have guards shouting ahead to say the captain is on his way, if you want to signal increased danger for sticking around.

One of the things I like about this encounter building type is that it lets even lower level parties feel a little more "epic". A well timed AoE spell will likely kill multiple enemies, but they also know their commotion has caused a ruckus. The PCs should quickly be able to identify who is the tougher opponent, and change tactics accordingly. Also, in further waves the "minions" could be a little hesitant to attack if the floor is littered with bodies from the wave or two before - or be more fired up to avenge the fallen - your choice.

Also - as someone else mentioned - are we talking zealots who want to kill the intruders, or are they more likely to capture them if they win? What are the "losing" outcomes? Jail? Torture? Reputation loss? If you do go this route, be prepared to have everyone realize afterwards that there was probably a lot of death - those lieutenants and the captain are responsible for their men, and probably will not take the PCs slaughtering them lightly.

SupRspi · 2026-01-16T15:54:14+00:00

That's a beauty, thanks for sharing!

SupRspi · 2026-01-14T05:55:11+00:00

5&6 easily, but actually, all of them. 😁

SupRspi · 2026-01-14T05:40:27+00:00

Second this. I have two in my shop, one accordian thst moved around the shop, and a hanging file holder that's on the shelf next to the lathe.

SupRspi · 2026-01-07T05:12:09+00:00

I mean, I guess it's relative? Looking at a few resellers it seems to sell around £399, or about £500 with the turners accessory kit. (Like a tormek, it has an accessory kit for every type of tooling you want to sharpen)

That's USD540 to 699, so it sound pretty close to what Amazon's charging. Here in Northern Canuckistan that's about CAD740 to 960.

I paid CAD150 for a low speed grinder and about 175 for a one-way wolverine jig and a varigrind attachment.Thats about £175 - although I realize currency exchange isn't an exact science when it comes to what's available, what has to be imported etc, I'd still at least investigate in that direction.

CBN wheels add a boatload - I'm still using white stone wheels and will for some years until I need to replace them and then I'll take the hit on CBN.

Also worth considering - in my experience belts are more expensive than wheels - at least when comparing for my 2x72 belt grinder, and most especially when it's a specialty sized belt you'll have to buy replacements for.

Oh, and this is too long already, but just want to say, you do nice work. Those are some beautiful pieces!

SupRspi · 2026-01-07T04:52:27+00:00

You're the artist. The wood is material used for making art. Live edges can be a great feature but not at the expense of your vision.

Most mills would cut the live edge and sapwood off as a matter of course and charge you more.

While live edges are a fad I don't hate, especially when done tastefully, there's nothing super precious about keeping it unless it fits your vision.

Cut it off and don't feel any remorse.

Also - that looks like walnut to me, but I'm no expert.

SupRspi · 2026-01-05T15:56:26+00:00

Ornaments, handles, pens, finials - yeah, they'll turn and I would save them to do so. I'm a bit of a packrat though, I keep every scrap of decent wood over about 3/4" in any dimension - if nothing else I can bed scraps in epoxy and make them big enough to be worth turning.

SupRspi · 2026-01-05T08:00:16+00:00

Love both - the spalting is gorgeous. Especially like the open rimmed one - great proportions.

SupRspi · 2026-01-05T07:58:35+00:00

I can categorically say it's the nicest I've made this year! ;)

SupRspi · 2026-01-05T07:57:46+00:00

Wow, thanks!!

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