Puzzle: This is a noncombat encounter that tests the players’ mental skills in some fashion. Most puzzles involve logic, memory, or creativity. The riddle game included in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, The Hobbit, represents one kind of puzzle encounter.

Puzzles are an excellent way to make players rely on themselves rather than on their characters’ abilities. The best puzzles fit your game’s atmosphere; word plays on pop music lyrics or Disney movie titles aren’t a good approach to puzzle making unless you are playing the adventure for laughs.

You can add some tension to a puzzle encounter by combining it with a trap—the characters suffer damage or a magical effect if they give an incorrect response—or guardian—which attacks if the correct answer is not provided.

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