My players are about to enter a bandit hideout. The mini boss they will face is essentially a Court Bard. I figured he would have a puzzle that led to his inner office... This is what I have...
The puzzle revolves around a 4 move checkmate in chess. Here are the moves:
Pawn e2 ->e4
Bishop f1->c4
Queen d1->h5
Queen h5->f7
Checkmate.
I'm a math teacher. Poems and word games are not my strong suit, but here is a poem I started using the letters and numbers up above as inspiration:
Pre-Evaluate 2 Encourage 4 (pe2e4)
Big Fun 1's. Change 4 (bf1c4)
Quiet (or maybe Quick... another Q-word might be better) Disk's. (Here is where I get stuck...) 1 (h word) 5 (qd1h5)
I am not a poet nor a math quizard and I know very little about chess, but what I do know is D&D and I can tell you that in general puzzles in D&D suck. I can go into a whole lot of reasons why but I am going to break this down into something short that won't put you to sleep. Puzzles require players to expand their current suspension of disbelief which puts a strain on the players to start with. When you factor in that some players just dislike puzzles to start with you are often left with a scene where only a fraction of your players are involved. Additionally (notice all the math references), puzzles by their very nature tend to have a limited number of viable solutions. What I would recommend is to ditch the puzzle and instead present the players with a problem. Problems can have a wide variety of unique solutions and therefore increase player participation which multiplies the amount of enjoyment by all exponentially!
If you are still dead set on including your chess puzzle in your game after reading my exquisite advice then send me a message and I will do what I can to help you out.
I'm open to suggestions. I'm a newbie DM looking for guidance. I'm looking to make it thematically appropriate for this mini-boss. He was the jester of the local Baron, under the influence of a charm spell to assist the bandit leader. I figured since he was a jester, it would be fun to put a mini-game/puzzle as a boundary to reaching him. I started looking up puzzles, then fun house, and death house traps. I remembered a four move checkmate I learned as a child and thought I could use it. If you have another idea that's not a puzzle, I'm open to your ideas and running with them.
Be prepared to adjudicate the result of the puzzle via dice rolls or your players stand a good chance of not solving the riddle. Assuming they aren't all members of the chess club, and even then they might not figure out how to use the poem on their own without giving up first or ask to all resolve it via skill checks.
An alternative would be to drop the poem. Present a chess board, or magical representation , and have them solve the chess problem. Every wrong move zaps them for a point of damage and the board resets to the starting position. Make a right move and no zap, you keep going.
You could have some prose the describe the challenge nearby, something that can help them figure out it's 4 moves, and maybe warns them a wrong move will sting. Or you could have the poem as an extra clue if you figure out wording. But honestly coming up with good wording is the hardest part and likely as not the players won't even get the clue.
Well keep this in mind if you resort to solving via die rolls once the players feel they have no other actions you have about 3 die rolls before the players lose interest. However, the idea of having to cross a chessboard is always a fun challenge. Instead of having your players have to solve a specific chess move puzzle. I would suggest a chessboard with some random pieces on the board. Have the players assume the position at which they enter the board, until they cross the board they can only move in the manner of the piece they represent. After each of the players moves have one of the chess pieces move to block their progress. If you want to increase the intensity you can have the chess pieces inflict some sort of minor damage if the piece ends its turn in a square adjacent to a player. I would suggest something like 1d4 electrical or psychic damage. To add more interest I would limit one player per position, so only one king's bishop or queen's rook, etc.
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As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
Hmmm. I definitely understand where you are going with this. Now, I am guessing that the players are well versed in the chess locations and squares? Otherwise, this might not work the way you are hoping. I played a lot of chess in my younger days and am very familiar with the movement of each chess piece. But, I must admit I am totally lost with the expert level of play when moves such as e2 to e4 are mentioned and what-not.
Now, I very much like puzzles in DnD. Presenting the players with a somewhat easy challenge to get them to work and think together fits my old-school AD&D style.
With that... I'd like to show you a couple of Chess puzzles I did. For the most part, they only require the players to know the directions and movement of the chess pieces. Hopefully, they might help you work out your chess puzzle in your game.
In this one, the PCs assume the role of a chess piece and must move in the correct direction as dictated by their chess piece or fall into a pit of acid D&D Puzzle #7 - Checkmate - Acid Pit Chess Puzzle
This one here is a puzzle based off of the Eight Queens puzzle, which I am sure you are probably familiar with. Post video creation, I wish I would have made the move to solve it a straight single line with one move, but still, a decent little puzzle to throw at your players... D&D Puzzle #24 - Save the Queen - Chess Puzzle
Anyways... to answer your question... here is my best guess on finishing your poem:
-Peer Equal 2 Even 4 -Battle Fight 1 Combat 4 -Queen Duke 1 Heir 5 -Quick Haste 5 Fast 7
Good luck and have fun!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I have a YouTube channel with 5th Edition D&D Puzzles, Character Creations, DM Tips and Quests ideas. Check it out!
My suggestion is to first keep it simple, puzzles end up being harder for anyone else that does not live in your brain. Second, I would leave the letter and number coordinates off and focus on the words of the riddle drawing a picture.
For example,
The King of Light's sent his Guardsman forward a little to get a better look, and the Dark Guardsman in front of him came out as well. The King of Light and the King of Darkness both sent their Bishop's out to advise their Guardsman. The White Queen Came out to bless the Guardsman, but was taunted by the Black Knight from across the battlefield.
I hope that helps, and good luck with your puzzle.
To be perfectly honest, I had to look up the "letter and number" combinations. I'm not a Chess whiz. That being said. Thank you all for your feedback. I like the idea of allowing multiple solutions, and the puzzles and challenges presented have given me lots to think about.
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My players are about to enter a bandit hideout. The mini boss they will face is essentially a Court Bard. I figured he would have a puzzle that led to his inner office... This is what I have...
The puzzle revolves around a 4 move checkmate in chess. Here are the moves:
I am not a poet nor a math quizard and I know very little about chess, but what I do know is D&D and I can tell you that in general puzzles in D&D suck. I can go into a whole lot of reasons why but I am going to break this down into something short that won't put you to sleep. Puzzles require players to expand their current suspension of disbelief which puts a strain on the players to start with. When you factor in that some players just dislike puzzles to start with you are often left with a scene where only a fraction of your players are involved. Additionally (notice all the math references), puzzles by their very nature tend to have a limited number of viable solutions. What I would recommend is to ditch the puzzle and instead present the players with a problem. Problems can have a wide variety of unique solutions and therefore increase player participation which multiplies the amount of enjoyment by all exponentially!
If you are still dead set on including your chess puzzle in your game after reading my exquisite advice then send me a message and I will do what I can to help you out.
Live to DM, DM to live!
A
As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
I'm open to suggestions. I'm a newbie DM looking for guidance. I'm looking to make it thematically appropriate for this mini-boss. He was the jester of the local Baron, under the influence of a charm spell to assist the bandit leader. I figured since he was a jester, it would be fun to put a mini-game/puzzle as a boundary to reaching him. I started looking up puzzles, then fun house, and death house traps. I remembered a four move checkmate I learned as a child and thought I could use it. If you have another idea that's not a puzzle, I'm open to your ideas and running with them.
Be prepared to adjudicate the result of the puzzle via dice rolls or your players stand a good chance of not solving the riddle. Assuming they aren't all members of the chess club, and even then they might not figure out how to use the poem on their own without giving up first or ask to all resolve it via skill checks.
An alternative would be to drop the poem. Present a chess board, or magical representation , and have them solve the chess problem. Every wrong move zaps them for a point of damage and the board resets to the starting position. Make a right move and no zap, you keep going.
You could have some prose the describe the challenge nearby, something that can help them figure out it's 4 moves, and maybe warns them a wrong move will sting. Or you could have the poem as an extra clue if you figure out wording. But honestly coming up with good wording is the hardest part and likely as not the players won't even get the clue.
Well keep this in mind if you resort to solving via die rolls once the players feel they have no other actions you have about 3 die rolls before the players lose interest. However, the idea of having to cross a chessboard is always a fun challenge. Instead of having your players have to solve a specific chess move puzzle. I would suggest a chessboard with some random pieces on the board. Have the players assume the position at which they enter the board, until they cross the board they can only move in the manner of the piece they represent. After each of the players moves have one of the chess pieces move to block their progress. If you want to increase the intensity you can have the chess pieces inflict some sort of minor damage if the piece ends its turn in a square adjacent to a player. I would suggest something like 1d4 electrical or psychic damage. To add more interest I would limit one player per position, so only one king's bishop or queen's rook, etc.
As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
Hmmm. I definitely understand where you are going with this. Now, I am guessing that the players are well versed in the chess locations and squares? Otherwise, this might not work the way you are hoping. I played a lot of chess in my younger days and am very familiar with the movement of each chess piece. But, I must admit I am totally lost with the expert level of play when moves such as e2 to e4 are mentioned and what-not.
Now, I very much like puzzles in DnD. Presenting the players with a somewhat easy challenge to get them to work and think together fits my old-school AD&D style.
With that... I'd like to show you a couple of Chess puzzles I did. For the most part, they only require the players to know the directions and movement of the chess pieces. Hopefully, they might help you work out your chess puzzle in your game.
In this one, the PCs assume the role of a chess piece and must move in the correct direction as dictated by their chess piece or fall into a pit of acid
D&D Puzzle #7 - Checkmate - Acid Pit Chess Puzzle
This one here is a puzzle based off of the Eight Queens puzzle, which I am sure you are probably familiar with. Post video creation, I wish I would have made the move to solve it a straight single line with one move, but still, a decent little puzzle to throw at your players...
D&D Puzzle #24 - Save the Queen - Chess Puzzle
Anyways... to answer your question... here is my best guess on finishing your poem:
-Battle Fight 1 Combat 4
-Queen Duke 1 Heir 5
-Quick Haste 5 Fast 7
I have a YouTube channel with 5th Edition D&D Puzzles, Character Creations, DM Tips and Quests ideas. Check it out!
Wally DM on YouTube
My suggestion is to first keep it simple, puzzles end up being harder for anyone else that does not live in your brain. Second, I would leave the letter and number coordinates off and focus on the words of the riddle drawing a picture.
For example,
The King of Light's sent his Guardsman forward a little to get a better look, and the Dark Guardsman in front of him came out as well. The King of Light and the King of Darkness both sent their Bishop's out to advise their Guardsman. The White Queen Came out to bless the Guardsman, but was taunted by the Black Knight from across the battlefield.
I hope that helps, and good luck with your puzzle.
To be perfectly honest, I had to look up the "letter and number" combinations. I'm not a Chess whiz. That being said. Thank you all for your feedback. I like the idea of allowing multiple solutions, and the puzzles and challenges presented have given me lots to think about.