My players are meeting an NPC so that she give them an item they need to continue. However, rather than just give them the item, she challenges them to a card game. They get the item if they win. However, I didn't want this to simply be a couple of luck-based set of rolls. I was thinking it could be some kind of logic puzzle. Like, after she deals out the cards, she makes a comment about one or more of her cards, and through that clue, the players can deduce what cards she has and thus win. This is obviously the point in-universe, as she's testing their intelligence, rather than their luck. The problem is, I don't know how to make the puzzle work, and I've been having hard time finding examples
A blind-folded man is handed a deck of 52 cards and told that exactly 10 of these cards are facing up.
He is asked to divide those cards into two piles, each with the same number of cards facing up.
He can't peek, get help, or damage the cards, but may use any strategy that occurs to him to do so.
How can he do it?
Answer in the spoiler:
The blind-folded man divides the cards into one pile of 10 cards and one of 42 cards.
He then flips all cards in the smaller pile.
Alternatively you might be able to use something like the deck of illusions combined with the phantasmal force spell. Have the party draw a card and then "fight" whatever creature is represented by the card they drew. The catch, as the creature is an illusion it is impervious to their attacks so they need to use their action and "investigation" skills to see throough the illusion. You can phrase the imperviousness of the illusion in ways such as "it reacts to your attack and uncannily dodges the blow" or "the creature becomes insubstantial and evades the blast of your spell". And just to spice it up, when the npc talks about the deck of cards they say it is magical and can grant "Many Things" to make them think they are pulling from the deck of many thngs.
Depending on how long you have, they might be a fey trickster who pulls them into a demiplane which functions as a card-themed dungeon puzzle. You can use word-play for some element of the puzzles, EG having four dungeon rooms which have suits on mannequins, two red and two black, with hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs in the lining. You might make each of the suits comprise of 13 items (you'll have to expand a little, EG: Shirt, Jacket, Tie, Trousers, Suspenders, Waistcoat, hankerchief, cuff links 1, and 2, Shoes 1, and 2, Hat, Monocle makes 13 items), which means you now have 52 items divided between 4 suits, just like a pack of cards. So maybe the goal is to find each of the items, and then arrange them - but the final twist is that a deck must be shuffled, so each mannequin must have at least 2 items from each suit. The plane might be a labyrinth of gambling-related challenges (wheel of fortune, roulette, blackjack...) with two mischevious fey either harming or helping them on the way around (jokers). You could have the preface be somethign about how one will try to help and the other will try to harm, so they can try and work it out. Avoid the "only lies/only truth" schtick as it only works if you only get one question - otherwise you test them once with an obvious one, like "is my hair brown", and immediately know.
My players are meeting an NPC so that she give them an item they need to continue. However, rather than just give them the item, she challenges them to a card game. They get the item if they win. However, I didn't want this to simply be a couple of luck-based set of rolls. I was thinking it could be some kind of logic puzzle. Like, after she deals out the cards, she makes a comment about one or more of her cards, and through that clue, the players can deduce what cards she has and thus win. This is obviously the point in-universe, as she's testing their intelligence, rather than their luck. The problem is, I don't know how to make the puzzle work, and I've been having hard time finding examples
I found this one on a math site:
A blind-folded man is handed a deck of 52 cards and told that exactly 10 of these cards are facing up.
He is asked to divide those cards into two piles, each with the same number of cards facing up.
He can't peek, get help, or damage the cards, but may use any strategy that occurs to him to do so.
How can he do it?
Answer in the spoiler:
The blind-folded man divides the cards into one pile of 10 cards and one of 42 cards.
He then flips all cards in the smaller pile.
Alternatively you might be able to use something like the deck of illusions combined with the phantasmal force spell. Have the party draw a card and then "fight" whatever creature is represented by the card they drew. The catch, as the creature is an illusion it is impervious to their attacks so they need to use their action and "investigation" skills to see throough the illusion. You can phrase the imperviousness of the illusion in ways such as "it reacts to your attack and uncannily dodges the blow" or "the creature becomes insubstantial and evades the blast of your spell". And just to spice it up, when the npc talks about the deck of cards they say it is magical and can grant "Many Things" to make them think they are pulling from the deck of many thngs.
Depending on how long you have, they might be a fey trickster who pulls them into a demiplane which functions as a card-themed dungeon puzzle. You can use word-play for some element of the puzzles, EG having four dungeon rooms which have suits on mannequins, two red and two black, with hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs in the lining. You might make each of the suits comprise of 13 items (you'll have to expand a little, EG: Shirt, Jacket, Tie, Trousers, Suspenders, Waistcoat, hankerchief, cuff links 1, and 2, Shoes 1, and 2, Hat, Monocle makes 13 items), which means you now have 52 items divided between 4 suits, just like a pack of cards. So maybe the goal is to find each of the items, and then arrange them - but the final twist is that a deck must be shuffled, so each mannequin must have at least 2 items from each suit. The plane might be a labyrinth of gambling-related challenges (wheel of fortune, roulette, blackjack...) with two mischevious fey either harming or helping them on the way around (jokers). You could have the preface be somethign about how one will try to help and the other will try to harm, so they can try and work it out. Avoid the "only lies/only truth" schtick as it only works if you only get one question - otherwise you test them once with an obvious one, like "is my hair brown", and immediately know.
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