Every party's collective intelligence [Dungeon crawling games as a whole]
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If a puzzle is too simple, players will assume the solution is a red herring, and the actual answer is something more complex. Let us not forget how the entire Fellowship of the Ring was stumped by a door that told them how to open it, because they thought it would be more secure.
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“That’s right! It goes in the square hole!”
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I think a lot about this one time in a game of modern day magic. The players wanted to contact another group. They knew the other group was double warded against magic. An anti-teleportation spell on top of a general anti-magic spell. Serious business.
The players wanted to some time and resources trying to punch through these wards to teleport directly to this other group. I told them the odds, they said ok, and rolled. The dice said no. They mulled about for a bit, and then said they wanted to try again. I said ok. They got their spells together, spent their resources, and rolled. The dice said no, again.
I said, “Do you want a hint?”
They said, “Yeah”
I said, “You just want to talk to them, right?”
“Yeah”, they said.
“Why don’t you just call them on the phone?” I said.
“…oh.”
Sometimes players get tunnel vision.
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DnD Barbarian: “B…A…T… Oh no, it’s bait for a trap!” WoD player: “No, you dolt. It’s clearly meant to be a more complex anagram indicating the identity of the coconspirator. Cunning… peasant…” Call of Cthulhu player: insensate screaming “It is the name of the unspeakable! Burn them! Destroy the tablets! Bury the entrance so that none find this place again in our lifetimes!” DnD Wizard: “Fireball. Final answer.” rolls
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“That’s right! It goes in the square hole!”
Classic!
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If a puzzle is too simple, players will assume the solution is a red herring, and the actual answer is something more complex. Let us not forget how the entire Fellowship of the Ring was stumped by a door that told them how to open it, because they thought it would be more secure.
DM: “Written on the door in beautiful caligraphy carved directly into the stone are the words ‘Pedo mellon a minno’.”
Party: …
DM: “You recognize it as Elvish. It translates to ‘Speak friend and enter.’”
Party: …
DM: “It’s telling you, in elvish, to speak the word ‘friend’”.
Party: …
DM “You can just say the word for ‘friend’ to gain entry”
Party: “Friend!”
DM: “No, no, say the word for ‘friend’ in Elvish.”
Party: …
DM: “It’s literally written on the wall in the text of the riddle.”
Party: …
DM: “I just said it, and it is written write there.”
Party: …
DM: “It’s ‘mellon’.”
Party: …
DM: “Say ‘mellon’ and the door will open.”
Party: …
DM: “SAY MELLON!!!”
Party: “Uh… ‘Mellon.’”
DM: deeeep breath “The door swings open revealing a dark tunnel in front of you.”
Party: “Crap, I don’t have have dark vision. Can we go back to the village to buy some torches?”
DM: …
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Classic!
And an extended version with the redemption arc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nSQs0Gr9FA
I recommend watching at 1.5x as the video seems to be slowed down for some reason.
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Classic!
For anyone who doesn’t want the obnoxious reaction gal in the side of the video
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I’d argue her exasperated acceleration through the five stages of grief adds a lot to the video, but I understand not wanting it.
