I have stolen this idea from Power Rangers: Mystic Force. In that show, the Xenotome is a book that contains everything "not yet known". It is a book that contains all the knowledge there will ever be within its pages, but only displays knowledge relevant to current events, and the current situation. To quote directly from the fandom wiki:
The Xenotome is a book which holds in it everything that is not yet known. As the events unfold, the tome will have them appear inside its pages, written in the language of the ancients
I was thinking of giving such a book to my players. It would contain all the answers to the puzzles and riddles in the session. Also, instructions on how to beat, trick or avoid all the monsters and enemies on a session-by-session basis. The book would be a puzzle, with its contents wrote in code, or hidden behind pictures and lore-based references.
The players would then have to study the Xenotome and research stuff, work out the codes and crack them and so on, to get the answers. If they do this, the book would be an invaluable resource to them, but if they don't want to, it won't change anything, but the game will be harder.
I wouldn't tell them what the Xenotome contains either, only that they can find all the things they do not yet know, within its pages. By using the Xenotome, the players can focus more on the story and discovery of the new world, but by not using it, they can focus more on battles and solving puzzles and fighting to survive. It is essentially a difficulty setting.
The point of the Xenotome is to give my players things to do, to get their fix when we are not in session, but not to be something they "have" to do, to play the game, and ultimately to give them a way of setting how hard they want the game. Think of it as analogous to the story mode, hard mode, nightmare mode, settings in video games.
How well do you think such a book would work in D&D?
If the events only appear in the book AFTER they become reality, how do we know the book isn't just a fancy daily journal with a cool name?
I say give it a simulator mode. Pre-plan scenarios in the future that characters can possibly get foreknowledge into if they ask the right questions, it doesn't have to solve major problems or give away big plot points(but, it could if you want).
It sounds like Destiny's book from the Sandman series.
You could make it so it is constantly in flux, like the major events always stay concrete and easily legible in the book, but the minor details shift and change making the exact circumstances of the entry hard to point out.
example: "Well all I can really make out from this passage is sometime in the near future we are all going to be pointing and laughing at the priest who is covered in smoldering dragon poo...I think it has something to do with flatulence..."
And then, as a DM, simply wait for the right moment to make it happen for maximum hilarity...or tragedy.
Now instead of a "difficulty" setting, it's more of a book of curiosity driven self fulfilling prophecies.
I honestly don't see the point. Like with your other post about children and meta games, this is probably something you should communicate about with your players. You know, actually talking to them about what they want out of the game? Because if they are actually interested in exploring the world you shouldn't punish them by having them have to solve puzzles to be able to bypass the monsters. If all they want to do is fight monsters, why take that away from them.
Also, like HeathSmith said, if you do want to give them a cheat code(x), why on earth would you make them have to jump through loops to be able to use it? Either give it to them or don't. But again, talk to you players instead of strangers on the internet.
I would personally hate it. It sounds like you're assigning homework to do for the game, and one of the most fun parts of the game is working together to figure stuff out together as a group at the table. I've always been more than happy to spend several sessions doing exploratory or interaction stuff. I still remember the time when we got through several nights doing nothing but using level 11+ characters to just... build a town. Our DM kept apologizing for the lack of combat, but all of us were just enjoying the literal world building.
But this book sounds like you're expecting players to figure out puzzle stuff outside of the game, then coming to the game table with a gamefaq cheat sheet and making the actual game harder to play instead of checking things off a sheet. I don't really consider that fun.
It also limits you, the DM, because if you ever want to have a mystery and that happens to be the week the players use the book.... well, mystery solved. Divination tools are tricky to play with, and its kind of on you to have to deal with an out of context divination tool. Current divination spells have counters. Does a book that knows literally everything?
Also relevant, I would question if the book had access to magic spells (all knowledge in the world) for the wizard to crib. Would others in the world steal the book? It's a huge thing for kingdoms, I would imagine.
Sounds like it would be far too difficult to create and not very much fun to use.
Rather than making puzzles to help them solve puzzles when you don't even know if the initial puzzles you give them to solve are going to be hard enough for you to bother creating a second puzzle with the solution (or, worse, something you didn't think was puzzling being the thing they want a puzzle for and you didn't make one)....
Why not a book that "contains all knowledge". but isn't guaranteed to be relevant to the current situation?
You could make a table with 1000 random facts about your game world that aren't necessarily so obvious, but could very well be helpful in future story lines (or could have been helpful in previous ones, after they had it for a while.) It is a lot of random factoids to come up with-- but still not as much work as trying to create codes and puzzles to provide answers for codes and puzzles.
Plus, it helps flesh out your game world. You can make it fun to even get the wrong factoid by making enough of them humorous in tone.
If a character spends a minute reading the book, they can roll 3D 10 and the result determines which of the 1000 factoids the learn.
Sounds like it would be far too difficult to create and not very much fun to use.
Rather than making puzzles to help them solve puzzles when you don't even know if the initial puzzles you give them to solve are going to be hard enough for you to bother creating a second puzzle with the solution (or, worse, something you didn't think was puzzling being the thing they want a puzzle for and you didn't make one)....
Why not a book that "contains all knowledge". but isn't guaranteed to be relevant to the current situation?
You could make a table with 1000 random facts about your game world that aren't necessarily so obvious, but could very well be helpful in future story lines (or could have been helpful in previous ones, after they had it for a while.) It is a lot of random factoids to come up with-- but still not as much work as trying to create codes and puzzles to provide answers for codes and puzzles.
Plus, it helps flesh out your game world. You can make it fun to even get the wrong factoid by making enough of them humorous in tone.
If a character spends a minute reading the book, they can roll 3D 10 and the result determines which of the 1000 factoids the learn.
I like this, on the level of parallel universes with all outcomes being possible, a lot of the information could have limited or great value. A total crap shoot.
I personally like the book idea and think it could be done right, just not easily. I've always had an issue with destiny/fate concepts but, endless possibilities seems awesome.
If any of you have read many of SocialFoxes other topics, you know that everything has to have an element of deeper thought and details. That's what the OP enjoys crafting and maybe the creation is more important than the application.
There was something like this in the City of Brass adventure, the Codex of Infinite Planes. You had to make a DC30 save to even read it without going insane, IIRC.
Sounds like it would be far too difficult to create and not very much fun to use.
Rather than making puzzles to help them solve puzzles when you don't even know if the initial puzzles you give them to solve are going to be hard enough for you to bother creating a second puzzle with the solution (or, worse, something you didn't think was puzzling being the thing they want a puzzle for and you didn't make one)....
Why not a book that "contains all knowledge". but isn't guaranteed to be relevant to the current situation?
You could make a table with 1000 random facts about your game world that aren't necessarily so obvious, but could very well be helpful in future story lines (or could have been helpful in previous ones, after they had it for a while.) It is a lot of random factoids to come up with-- but still not as much work as trying to create codes and puzzles to provide answers for codes and puzzles.
Plus, it helps flesh out your game world. You can make it fun to even get the wrong factoid by making enough of them humorous in tone.
If a character spends a minute reading the book, they can roll 3D 10 and the result determines which of the 1000 factoids the learn.
I like this, on the level of parallel universes with all outcomes being possible, a lot of the information could have limited or great value. A total crap shoot.
I personally like the book idea and think it could be done right, just not easily. I've always had an issue with destiny/fate concepts but, endless possibilities seems awesome.
If any of you have read many of SocialFoxes other topics, you know that everything has to have an element of deeper thought and details. That's what the OP enjoys crafting and maybe the creation is more important than the application.
The book isn't to force the players to do one particular thing over the other. The idea is to give the players choices. If they want puzzles, then the book is one big puzzle if they wish to have a story and roleplay. Solving the puzzles in the book will make combat super easy, allowing them to focus more on the story and delve into their characters and how they tie into the world.
If they just want pure combat, then they can leave the book alone and go hit and miss.
If they want a balanced game, with a mix of puzzles, story, roleplay and combat, then they can solve some of the puzzles in the book, which will allow them more time for the story and delving into their characters, while not making combat super easy.
My whole idea was to create an item that gave choices by design as an inworld mechanic. There is also the entire thing about destiny and power. Do they fight against fate, or do they surrender to it? Do they resist the alluring power, of a book that contains all knowledge, or do they let it corrupt them, willingly or not.
I am not sure if I am achieving this will this item though.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
The book isn't to force the players to do one particular thing over the other. The idea is to give the players choices. If they want puzzles, then the book is one big puzzle if they wish to have a story and roleplay. Solving the puzzles in the book will make combat super easy, allowing them to focus more on the story and delve into their characters and how they tie into the world.
If they just want pure combat, then they can leave the book alone and go hit and miss.
If they want a balanced game, with a mix of puzzles, story, roleplay and combat, then they can solve some of the puzzles in the book, which will allow them more time for the story and delving into their characters, while not making combat super easy.
My whole idea was to create an item that gave choices by design as an inworld mechanic. There is also the entire thing about destiny and power. Do they fight against fate, or do they surrender to it? Do they resist the alluring power, of a book that contains all knowledge, or do they let it corrupt them, willingly or not.
I am not sure if I am achieving this will this item though.
Again, why not just ask your players what they want instead of making them jump through hoops?
Ignoring the fact that the same effect can basically be achieved through the Legend Lore spell (without the extra work), what would be the actual point of making them solve a new puzzle every time they want to use the book? You wouldn't have a Fighter solve a sudoku every time they wield they Vorpal Blade, would you? And unless we're talking about and actual Deathworld, is there really no way for the PC to explore the world without having to fight stuff that are so deadly that they basically need cheatcodes to beat them? If you want the players to explore your world don't punish them by having to either fight stuff or solve puzzles to be able to avoid the stuff they otherwise had to fight.
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Hi, beyonders
I have stolen this idea from Power Rangers: Mystic Force. In that show, the Xenotome is a book that contains everything "not yet known". It is a book that contains all the knowledge there will ever be within its pages, but only displays knowledge relevant to current events, and the current situation. To quote directly from the fandom wiki:
I was thinking of giving such a book to my players. It would contain all the answers to the puzzles and riddles in the session. Also, instructions on how to beat, trick or avoid all the monsters and enemies on a session-by-session basis. The book would be a puzzle, with its contents wrote in code, or hidden behind pictures and lore-based references.
The players would then have to study the Xenotome and research stuff, work out the codes and crack them and so on, to get the answers. If they do this, the book would be an invaluable resource to them, but if they don't want to, it won't change anything, but the game will be harder.
I wouldn't tell them what the Xenotome contains either, only that they can find all the things they do not yet know, within its pages. By using the Xenotome, the players can focus more on the story and discovery of the new world, but by not using it, they can focus more on battles and solving puzzles and fighting to survive. It is essentially a difficulty setting.
The point of the Xenotome is to give my players things to do, to get their fix when we are not in session, but not to be something they "have" to do, to play the game, and ultimately to give them a way of setting how hard they want the game. Think of it as analogous to the story mode, hard mode, nightmare mode, settings in video games.
How well do you think such a book would work in D&D?
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
If the events only appear in the book AFTER they become reality, how do we know the book isn't just a fancy daily journal with a cool name?
I say give it a simulator mode. Pre-plan scenarios in the future that characters can possibly get foreknowledge into if they ask the right questions, it doesn't have to solve major problems or give away big plot points(but, it could if you want).
It sounds like Destiny's book from the Sandman series.
You could make it so it is constantly in flux, like the major events always stay concrete and easily legible in the book, but the minor details shift and change making the exact circumstances of the entry hard to point out.
example: "Well all I can really make out from this passage is sometime in the near future we are all going to be pointing and laughing at the priest who is covered in smoldering dragon poo...I think it has something to do with flatulence..."
And then, as a DM, simply wait for the right moment to make it happen for maximum hilarity...or tragedy.
Now instead of a "difficulty" setting, it's more of a book of curiosity driven self fulfilling prophecies.
I think you’re going to burn them out on puzzles really fast. You’re taking the exploration pillar out of the game and replacing it with puzzles.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
I honestly don't see the point. Like with your other post about children and meta games, this is probably something you should communicate about with your players. You know, actually talking to them about what they want out of the game? Because if they are actually interested in exploring the world you shouldn't punish them by having them have to solve puzzles to be able to bypass the monsters. If all they want to do is fight monsters, why take that away from them.
Also, like HeathSmith said, if you do want to give them a cheat code(x), why on earth would you make them have to jump through loops to be able to use it? Either give it to them or don't. But again, talk to you players instead of strangers on the internet.
One other thought- you’d also be making every library in the game, a long with all the attached lore, instantly pointless.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
I would personally hate it. It sounds like you're assigning homework to do for the game, and one of the most fun parts of the game is working together to figure stuff out together as a group at the table. I've always been more than happy to spend several sessions doing exploratory or interaction stuff. I still remember the time when we got through several nights doing nothing but using level 11+ characters to just... build a town. Our DM kept apologizing for the lack of combat, but all of us were just enjoying the literal world building.
But this book sounds like you're expecting players to figure out puzzle stuff outside of the game, then coming to the game table with a gamefaq cheat sheet and making the actual game harder to play instead of checking things off a sheet. I don't really consider that fun.
It also limits you, the DM, because if you ever want to have a mystery and that happens to be the week the players use the book.... well, mystery solved. Divination tools are tricky to play with, and its kind of on you to have to deal with an out of context divination tool. Current divination spells have counters. Does a book that knows literally everything?
Also relevant, I would question if the book had access to magic spells (all knowledge in the world) for the wizard to crib. Would others in the world steal the book? It's a huge thing for kingdoms, I would imagine.
Sounds like it would be far too difficult to create and not very much fun to use.
Rather than making puzzles to help them solve puzzles when you don't even know if the initial puzzles you give them to solve are going to be hard enough for you to bother creating a second puzzle with the solution (or, worse, something you didn't think was puzzling being the thing they want a puzzle for and you didn't make one)....
Why not a book that "contains all knowledge". but isn't guaranteed to be relevant to the current situation?
You could make a table with 1000 random facts about your game world that aren't necessarily so obvious, but could very well be helpful in future story lines (or could have been helpful in previous ones, after they had it for a while.) It is a lot of random factoids to come up with-- but still not as much work as trying to create codes and puzzles to provide answers for codes and puzzles.
Plus, it helps flesh out your game world. You can make it fun to even get the wrong factoid by making enough of them humorous in tone.
If a character spends a minute reading the book, they can roll 3D 10 and the result determines which of the 1000 factoids the learn.
I like this, on the level of parallel universes with all outcomes being possible, a lot of the information could have limited or great value. A total crap shoot.
I personally like the book idea and think it could be done right, just not easily. I've always had an issue with destiny/fate concepts but, endless possibilities seems awesome.
If any of you have read many of SocialFoxes other topics, you know that everything has to have an element of deeper thought and details. That's what the OP enjoys crafting and maybe the creation is more important than the application.
There was something like this in the City of Brass adventure, the Codex of Infinite Planes. You had to make a DC30 save to even read it without going insane, IIRC.
Make sure it has a great index
The book isn't to force the players to do one particular thing over the other. The idea is to give the players choices. If they want puzzles, then the book is one big puzzle if they wish to have a story and roleplay. Solving the puzzles in the book will make combat super easy, allowing them to focus more on the story and delve into their characters and how they tie into the world.
If they just want pure combat, then they can leave the book alone and go hit and miss.
If they want a balanced game, with a mix of puzzles, story, roleplay and combat, then they can solve some of the puzzles in the book, which will allow them more time for the story and delving into their characters, while not making combat super easy.
My whole idea was to create an item that gave choices by design as an inworld mechanic. There is also the entire thing about destiny and power. Do they fight against fate, or do they surrender to it? Do they resist the alluring power, of a book that contains all knowledge, or do they let it corrupt them, willingly or not.
I am not sure if I am achieving this will this item though.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Again, why not just ask your players what they want instead of making them jump through hoops?
Ignoring the fact that the same effect can basically be achieved through the Legend Lore spell (without the extra work), what would be the actual point of making them solve a new puzzle every time they want to use the book? You wouldn't have a Fighter solve a sudoku every time they wield they Vorpal Blade, would you? And unless we're talking about and actual Deathworld, is there really no way for the PC to explore the world without having to fight stuff that are so deadly that they basically need cheatcodes to beat them? If you want the players to explore your world don't punish them by having to either fight stuff or solve puzzles to be able to avoid the stuff they otherwise had to fight.