Predicting this channel absolutely takes off in the next month or so.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

I don't know if this was the intention, but I'm for sure feeling this as bardic inspiration

@joebobby8371

Жыл бұрын

I'm doing my part

@zomara0292

Жыл бұрын

You are saying it hasn't taken off already? 3 videos in, already 1k followers, an accent intriguing to most Americans, a mode of speech that is fast paced yet pleasant to listen to, a channel which promises something different than the constant swashbuckling, High Fantasy-esc, adventure of other channels, or even the Low Fantasy, Blood and Blade, style promised by most of the OSR KZread crowd? And behind the scenes, a definite understanding of SEO and obvious experience with TTRPGs, Scene Crafting, and Storytelling? Oh... and that mood lighting is bomb. They are already set with a KZread winning combination.

@Indestructoboy

Жыл бұрын

@@zomara0292 Lol I made this comment two weeks ago when she had 9 subscribers.

@neosovereign

Жыл бұрын

She needs a better mic set up.

“Snitch” Just impeccable showmanship from this person. Got me feelin some type of way.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

snitches get stitches but also _experience points_ 👌

I love the idea of these organic puzzles like the kids, where it's not a whole magical passphrace thing but literally just a situation that demands creativity.

Ooh, these puzzles are EXCELLENT, I really love the idea of having them be less of a standard video game puzzle and more like what a protagonist in a book might find. Great framing, I’ll be using this for sure in my games!

Working at an escape room is an epic GM backstory

@corkboardsandcuriosities

11 ай бұрын

you haven't heard the best part: in my job i was referred to as "timekeeper", we had a whole time travelling theme going on

This is exactly the stuff Ive been looking for. As a player I love puzzles and riddles but as a DM i always had trouble running them, they felt boring, my players were uninterested etc. But basically everything you brought up in this video addresses what they disliked about them! I cant wait to incorporate this into my home game.

Thank you, these are wonderful ideas that are most definitely going to inspire me! Instant subscription! One thing I'd like to add to the conversation is that progressing doesn't have to mean succeeding: it's ok to have a real chance that your players won't "succeed" in the puzzle, so long as the story still progresses: they aren't just stuck in the same situation but something changes that furthers the plot: maybe they fail the magical test to enter the temple and they are dragged away to a prison cell but now in prison they encounter a character who they had helped in the past. The story of why this charter was taken to prison reveals a clue that takes them in a different direction: the head priest keeps the secret writings of the cult in his own home. Perhaps reading those secret writings would be more valuable than spying on their rituals. That might be easier, if only they can escape this prison cell...

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely agreed, always fail forward. And a lot of the clues we tend to come up with are not really location dependent and can be moved around or added to fit the path that the character actually forge for themselves. *dons tricorne hat* the pre-session notes is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules..

Incredible video and great insights. The more I've run games, the more I've come to similar conclusions. The immersion is paramount to everything else that follows in the session, and most often the simple - yet immersive - problem to solve, runs so much better than the clever - yet superficial - puzzle to solve. And your advice to start from the perspective of the players is particularly powerful. After all how can we expect them to suspend their disbelief of the scenario, if we have not walked through it ourselves to test the illusion? Apologies for the rant. Again, great work.

This is my first video I’ve seen of you, and it won’t be my last. This is amazing as a DM and Keeper, your advice on puzzles and riddles. Was spot on. Thank you for this 😊

Really liked your point that went along the lines of "If we can spend hours playing pretend, its ok to also be interested in playing with toys"

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

yessss, gotta treasure the child in us!

If anyone is stuck on needing a trap, use a hole. No I am not kidding. A hole that is too big to jump and seemingly endlessly deep. I have seen this simple environmental “trap” stump low level adventures. It’s not like you can’t modify it for higher level adventurers too. You can have a key on the other side which is a heavy object that needs to be brought back so those players who can fly do not have a simple answer. If you are looking for something that has your players involved use this. There has not been a single time where I have used it and not had my players start planning. Which I think is what most DMs want when we plan for traps.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

haha i'd be that one player who thinks the answer is a leap of faith and decides to throw themselves down the hole. I blame Indiana Jones

I've been DMing for 17 years, weekly or often daily games; as well as screenwriting for about 5. It's rare that a DMing channel teaches me much any more. You saying that a horror monster should be more of a vibe than a creature was so, like... bwaaah, that's dead one the mark. You and I would get along fuckin' FAMOUSLY dude. As far as rolling INT goes in the puzzle solving capacity, I do allow them to roll an increasingly difficult (DC 10, 15, 20) check for clues, but not the answer. Also, I LOVE making painted parchments and malleable objects. Another strategy I employ is to have a nearly impossible fight break out, with the solving the puzzle being the only way out. Some characters have to hold the line while others solve the riddle. I once had a player die and then instantly figure out the answer, so I let his character shout the answer as he was being killed, allowing everyone else to open the portal and escape. You shoulda seen their faces - pure panic

I'm *absolutely* stealing the vibe of your Sleeping Room in the campaign I'm running. I'll likely swap out the fleshy bits for tendrils of moving shadows to more accurately fit the theme, but everything else you've said is spot-on fantastic advice!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

ooooh I love that! And yeah it would totally work reflavouring it that way too! might use that for some call of cthulhu someday haha

Let’s get this magnificent channel to blow up everyone!! 🎉🎉🎉

Thinking about puzzles in the context of there role in the narrative rather than just a challenge for the players is actually a really grate idea. I am a little annoyed such a thing never occurred to me. Grate video. I will definitely be keeping this in mind going forward.

These are great tips, seriously ! I GMed my first game last summers for my nephews and I didn't like most of the tips I found back then on puzzles. So I tried finding out an alternative, and that's when it ticked. Taking inspiration from escape rooms and minigames, and in particular, their interactivity. I ended up looking at Anglo Saxon runes and grabbing parts of these. Printed them on paper and cut them. Then I came up with a few symbols by combining them and rotating them around a decided pivot point (indicated by a circle on the rune pieces). In-game players could interact with it, but once combat started, they had to use an action to try and figure out within some limited IRL time the symbol magically represented/glowing... and there were a few in a sequence. What's great is you can actually easily change the difficulty by making harder symbols or even harder base "shapes" to combine for your runes, and making an explanation for it is fairly easy. It can be an uncompleted ritual or deactivated device. Doing it mid combat ? Change the amount of IRL time players get to interact with it based on the character's intelligence/your system equivalent to INT. Maybe have it make the fight easier somehow. In my case it was getting an easier fight and getting the "good" ending (saving a kingdom prisoner of a timestopped bubble universe they'd have had no idea was a thing without completing the puzzle). I ended up making it a bit too easy (first GMing I was scared of scarring my young players, should have planned a back up in case they were flying through the puzzle :P ). I would love to revisit it and get some hard transparent sheets to print/draw on, cut a hole in the pivot point and have the runes on those plastic sheets stack over on some stick to rotate them around easier (kinda like the cypher in the video) but I know for sure that interactivity is how I'll handle puzzles going forward. Though narratively engaging puzzles is another way I'll consider creating those too now !

How is this channel not a massive success yet?? Fantastic work!

Thanks for the great video and tips! The sleeping flesh room sounds so nice as a way to prop up the atmosphere of the game. It's really inspiring The potion puzzle is also a nice twist on the "hidden rules" kind of puzzles

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

So happy you like them! I’m hoping I can come up with more because I kinda live for that eureka moment haha

Awesome content! Glad to see the start of a nice, quality DnD channel. Keep it up!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so so much! This is definitely encouraging me to keep going further down the rabbit hole 😄

@farowla787

Жыл бұрын

Glad I could help you keep up the awesome work! It's really good production quality.

Certainly makes my approach seem rubbish. I wanted more puzzles, so I sent my players off to the tomb of an ancient king, where finding the McGuffin required avoiding/solving a series of puzzle traps. Don't get me wrong, it was a great session. It started at the entrance to the tomb and ended with them emerging into the sunlight, victorious, so the pacing was perfect... But they were just puzzles. Video game "solve this with that" puzzles. This video is just gold. :D

here from Taron’s community post. this video is gold! subscribing like my life depends on it.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

thank you so much! i'm so glad you enjoyed it and the lovely feedback is so motivating to make more haha

@leem2155

Жыл бұрын

@@corkboardsandcuriosities please do! your about section says you have an interest in mystery and horror, and both of those to my mind are things that are really lacking in D&D 5e. videos on how to incorporate these elements, or games that already do it well, would go down really well i think. good luck with it all

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

@@leem2155 oooh yeah that's something that i'm planning to play with too. Though it's definitely very possible to play horror and mystery in 5e, there's so many lovely games that are dear to my heart and that are specifically intended for it, i wanna give em some love

Fantastic video! I love the way your mind works the settings and puzzles.

I am practically salivating at the creative puzzles in this video. It’s a great way of reframing critical thinking dilemmas (which can be daunting to some players) seamlessly into a lens of continued role playing. More examples! More puzzles! More content! Bravo! 🎉

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

haaaa this response makes me so happy! well, i've been considering it but... that's the incentive, time to create more puzzles!

I just realised that the dragon potion game is totally one that fairies would love to play.

Happy to be part of this story from almost the start.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

These lovely comments are too much for my lil heart

This makes so much more sense to my brain! My improv group will love this. Tysm!

I'm running an adventure, where the party has to do something with a sleeping godess. Immediately switched out the ritual for waking her up to... ...guess what! Really great inspiration and also the general tips. Liked and subbed! Keep more of this stuff coming, please!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

Please let me know how it goes! Someone in the comments came back to say how it went and I absolutely love reading those and how people are using these in games. the idea of using this for a sleeping goddess sounds awesome ngl hahaha

I think another example of what makes your puzzle examples work really well as opposed to some others (that I have been guilty of as well) is the immediate feedback. There's no "nothing happens" when you do it wrong, leaving you to wonder if you should even expect to have the puzzle finished at that point, but both the room and the children give direct response to all of your decisions, which lets players test their ideas and judge their plans based on the newly acquired information.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

Oh I... absolutely hadn't thought about that hahaha, but it's very very true, immediate feedback is super important to keep the puzzle moving forward. Glad these two puzzles worked out for it haha

Fantastic video and tips, I loved the examples! I like cyphers and word puzzles a lot, too, but like you said they can get stale and they don't fit in every context. I've shied away from more complex puzzles after a few bad DMs left a bad taste for me, with several occasions of all the players sitting around for an hour on individual puzzles; I'm excited to try more with your tips in mind and a few good backup plans! Might also try a soft timer with punishments (that also reveal hints/clues) at regular intervals.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

oh yeah, definitely haha, even though i love word puzzles and all, i'm still trying to figure out a way to make them more entertaining. The way I see it, what makes a good puzzle in rpg is more about "how fun is the process of discovering it" rather than thinking of the actual solution. one way of thinking of it is it's gotta be something that's easy to figure out, but fun to execute.

About tip 4, sometimes when my players feel stuck in a puzzle for long enough, and one of them comes up with a creative solution, even if is not the solution I intended I let it pass and count it as a success

@corkboardsandcuriosities

11 ай бұрын

oh absolutely! I love doing that too, if the players are creative, it's gotta be rewarded

I like the interaction with a prop idea; rewarded with a show of manners, certainly will try this one..... Its like passing round a pair of scissors and asking crossed or uncrossed.....

You are a genius and this is what I've been searching for. Thank you! I'll try and share you around to boost those numbers a bit

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

this is too nice and now i can't stop smiling

These are great tips, it's always intimidating starting to writing a puzzle but I will try more. The idea of mixing social encounters with puzzles it's terrific, I love it. Side note: omg the background is gorgeous, so atmospheric. I'd want to sit there and read a book. Also the lighting *chef kiss*

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

(my living room humbly thanks you for the compliment on its decor) Yess! I do feel like social encounters are good opportunities for puzzles, gotta be honest I think I just saw a bit too many door puzzles, when there's so many things that can technically qualify as a puzzle hahah

This is awesome! Seriously, really well done. One piece of constructive criticism: See if you can reduce the room echo. The echo makes it difficult (for me at least) to make out some individual words occasionally.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

I'm happy you like it!!! and for the echos, absolutely noted, haha i'm kinda recording audio from my laptop rn, getting myself a mic is on the to do list for sure!

@Cryptic_Golem

Жыл бұрын

@@corkboardsandcuriosities Cool! I'll definitely keep watching. Your content is on-point. Looking forward to seeing your channel grow.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

@@Cryptic_Golem Haaaa thank you! I really appreciate the feedback and the lovely words of encouragement!

Immaculate vibe and aesthetic ! And cool ideas, the sleeping room is definitely a great encounter. One thing I'd add on the backup plan part is that it's also a good idea to let your players come up with their own solution, even if it doesn't fit the actual solution or any of your backup plans. If their plan makes sense, make it happen, even if you didn't think about it before. I'd even argue that you could have a puzzle without any solution, and the players will probably find a way to solve it anyway (because players always have crazy ideas). Regardless, great work, I hope your channel takes off as much as you like !

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

oh yeah agreed, i think it goes along with the mentality of "if my players have a theory for the adventure other than what I had planned, then that's the new truth", which is something I really dig. The "truth" behind the screen always can be flexible and can change to better serve the story.

@lauralynch6494

7 ай бұрын

Let them Kobiashi Maru it! Either change the rules of the game, or come up with a solution so beautiful and creative that of course it works. I am so often comforted by the knowledge that my players outnumber me! And some of them are brilliant teens, unhindered by the limitations of experience

I'm gonna hop on the bandwagon and say this video's absolutely fantastic! You definitely know what you're doing both with the content itself and how you present it. Like other people have said, I'm a big fan of the creepy vibe you've got going on! I've always struggled with running puzzles -- my players never get the answer, and they always feel like a huge waste of time. BUT I really like your idea of designing the puzzles from the players point of view, and making them make sense within the context of the world. You're absolutely right when you say it makes no sense for the riddle that opens the door to be on the door to the cultists lair. Looking forward to what you make next!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

aaah thank you so much! so happy you liked it! puzzles are a tough one for sure haha, I had plenty of meh puzzle experiences before I eventually stopped trying to run them altogether, until rather recently. I think exactly what you pointed out is what clicked, trying to think of what kind of situation I would love my character to go through, so building the situation before building the puzzle kinda?

This is so cool and clever, and your voice really makes it enjoyable to listen to!!! I love this!

Those puzzles are simply lovely. I had never heard of the moon game, thank you for sharing that one.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

11 ай бұрын

glad you like them! i might try to come up with more haha, this was fun

Rather than break immersion…we want to SHIFT THE GEARS of immersion Thats brilliant

Found you via Matt Colville's channel. Enjoying your work and look forward to more.

Great stuff. In a similar vein I picked up a bunch of 2 (or 1 or 5) minute mystery books. That style of logic puzzle where the players ask questions (ie investigate) works great. And with a few books you don’t have to do the work of thinking of good ones). These also work for environmental narrative. The puzzle doesn’t have to be a blocking thing or directly related to why the players are there, it can just be the story of what happened there before you arrived. Even if the players don’t try to solve the puzzle it can make the space feel like it has a life outside of the players plot.

5:33 I feel called out. Well played. This advice aligns with how I like to approach gameplay. Not just with roleplay OR combat OR exploration, but usually a combination of two aspects (rarely all three, that might be a bit overboard) to grant more dynamism to encounters.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

if you feel called out, you're one of the cool kids oh yeah, i'm not yet at the level to have all these aspects balanced out perfectly for each session, but hey, it's a hobby we never really stop learning about

Love this, definitely using the flesh room Instant subscribe

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

if you play this i'd love to hear back how it went!! Please keep me updated! I keep kinda imagining the tune to sound like the main melody of Toutouig va mabig (a lullaby from Brittany), it's soft but can easily feel melancholic and i like that vibe for the sleeping room.

Oh My God, what a wonderfully, wonderfully twisted creative spark you have! Thank you for sharing it.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

that is too good a compliment

I get the feeling this channel is going to pop off.

The sleeping room is brilliant! Using it tomorrow.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

omg please let me know how it goes! i'd love to get some feedback on it on how it went in different games!

@jimmybrook7119

Жыл бұрын

@@corkboardsandcuriosities It went really well and flummoxed them for atleast 15mins. After the second torch lit and extinguished, they focused on the lullaby and eventually I had a bunch of 50yr old blokes singing ‘ring-a-ring of rosies’ as they squelched forward in the darkness. Funny and memorable.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

@@jimmybrook7119 hahahaha that's beautiful! thank you so much for checking back in haha, I was really itching to hear people's experiences with it

I've said that when designing TTRPG puzzles, you should take inspiration from things like the backs of cereal boxes, or issues of highlights. Ive seen and been in plenty of parties that got stuck on litteral popsicle-stick riddles. In the moment it can be really hard to get Puzzle Brain going, and so even these little kiddie puzzles will be a lot harder than you expect once you add the fantastical coat of paint to it.

Very useful info/tips and great format, also love the setup. Looking forward to more videos

This is so cool, much to learn from thank you

This is REALLY well made

Great video the examples were really useful!

Most excellent video. Looking forward to more.

Just became the 500th subscriber! This is an amazingly insightful video, thank you for the thought and care you poured into this video!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

Aaaaah thank you!!! I'm honestly so happy at how lovely the response has been. People are wonderful, and i've been on a little cloud haha

Lovely video! Very helpful, can't wait to put some of these suggestions to use

Incredible. I'm so glad I found your channel.

Great video! Your channel is gonna be great

Amazing video, 100% going to use some of these in my home game!

Delighted I found this! Phenomenal video and really good tips :) thank you so much

This is brilliant, got me thinking about puzzles in a lot of different ways now.

Instant suscription, such a good video

This was great - really imaginative and interesting tips, definitely gonna be using some of this! Looking forwards to seeing more from this channel.

Wow! This is FULL of good stuff! I will def use the sleeping room and the dragon potion in the next few weeks! Great video!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

7 ай бұрын

please let me know how it goes! i'd love to hear some feedback!

What can I say, watched everything and loved it

Very cool video on important topic

You are Brilliant and Diabolical !!! Thank You!

You are great! I love your point of view and style of delivery.

I love it! Wish you luck ib your creative journey, you shine!

Just find out about this channel today and this video is such a well done and its a blast to watch, cant wait to see more

I like your channel ! You have interesting twist on traps etc. Please continue to do more.

Amazing tips and the video is put together really well. Hope your channel grows a lot

I love this framing so much

Extremely well put together video. You have gained a new subscriber

Just come across this channel in my recommended, and my GOSH it's so good. Love the useful tips, the creative ideas, and the fun loving attitude!

This is absolute gold! I was trying to look for some puzzles for a cemetery dungeon crawl and these are perfect!!

Wow such a good concept, ive tried puzzles before but always ended up planning it poorly and losing their interest. Will have to try some of these. In this vein, I might also look at some drinking games, and how they could be adapted in the same way the potion one is. Cant wait to see the channel grow!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

oh wow, I hadn't considered drinking games but that sounds just perfect! if you adapt one into a puzzle i'd love to hear about it

@dtebbs

Жыл бұрын

@@corkboardsandcuriosities Think I have the start of something maybe? Based on the 'One up one down' drinking game (Google it). One downside is it only really works in person/when you can see the players well. The premise is to present it as some kind of riddle, maybe written on a wall or something, and giving the "correct" answer is needed a few times. Imagine you have a doorway that magically teleports a PC through once that person correctly answers. It is important that each player has to answer as this allows the variation to show and potentially confuse players. Allow players to go back through the door to the rest of the party without a riddle, but to return through it they must correctly answer again. It might be a good idea to have an NPC take part too as an example? The question is posed as 3 options (written or presented somehow otherwise): "One up one down/two down/two up" The correct answer is based on the answer given by a PC that corresponds to that players behaviour IRL. If the player has both hands above the table/belt line: two up; both hands below: two down; otherwise: one up one down. It has no bearing on what the PC is doing. If they are having real trouble and can't figure it out, a way to hint is by posing the question again, but following along with your arms as you say each option. A variation of this could be based on how they keep their dice in front of them. The riddle could become "roll of law/roll of chaos/roll of neutral". Then if they have a large messy pile: chaos; neat, well sorted sets: law; use only one or 2 sets: neutral. Or some other set of rules based on their dice. This has the bonus of misdirection towards alignment too. Might need a bit more tweaking, not completely sure if the hint makes it too obvious? And I don't love the variation.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

@@dtebbs ooooooooooooh i love the version with dice a lottttt! i didn't know that game at all this is super fun! but it remind me of a similar little riddle, I wasn't sure it if it existed in english but I just found it on reddit: www.reddit.com/r/riddles/comments/3nch6y/does_it_touch/

This is so so so good!! Thank you for the great advice♡♡ I was grappling with how to engage my player's more! I've written them a poem with clues in metaphors and little drawings in the letters and they're doing great, but those are such fun ideas to get them to think outside the box even more than a 'traditional' riddle would!! You're super creative and have amazing ideas, I'm off to watch your other videos now! :D

@corkboardsandcuriosities

9 ай бұрын

haaaa i'm so glad you liked it! I struggled with puzzles for so long, they're definitely not the easiest, but I'm so happy this resonates!

My character-Intelligence: 18 Presented with locked door, needed to solve a math puzzle to unlock it. I eventually solved it, but the fine line is the difference between, me, the dumb player and my highly intelligent character. My character should be able to solve puzzles I could never hope to conquer. Trying not break immersion with this type of puzzle is quite a challenge. Thanks for the great video!!!!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

ooooh I like the point that this raises, someone else brought it up in the comments earlier and it's a very fair point, like what if your character is supposed to be super smart but the puzzles are based on the player's intelligence. Which I get, I'm an absolute dumbass and yet I keep playing high int wizards hahaha I think the way I'd run this is I'd never give the player the answer right away, but them having high attributes in the relevant skills should give them extra hints. I say relevant skills because to me, not all puzzles are INT based. Actually, both the sleeping room and the dragon potion are rather based on wisdom and insight more than anything. It's less about being smart enough for calculations and mind gymnastics, and more about understanding that the sleeping room seems scared, but not inherently hostile, or noticing how these kids are really REALLY polite!!! So instead of delivering the answer right away, I'd just give extra clues to the player. One of my favourite RPG blogs is the Alexandrian, and this kind of reminds me of something he calls the "Matryoshka search technique". With his example, instead of searching the room, succeeding on the check and finding a hidden trapdoor, the player succeeds on their check and notices the floor scuff marks on the floor around the legs of the bed. Leading the player to believe the bed has been moved, leading them to move the bed themselves, and eventually find the trapdoor. I think it would be nice for puzzles to work the same, so the players can reach that conclusion themselves, but the skills of their characters are still rewarded and giving them an advantage. I'll link the article if that's something you're interested in! thealexandrian.net/wordpress/38104/roleplaying-games/random-gm-tip-matryoshka-search-technique

Hey these are incredibly good tips! Thanks for making this video! I'm making a cypher wheel for my table ASAP.

Lo e the content, great advice, and very well put together video. I would more of this and really hope.more people find your stuff. Kind regards

I play a lot of narrative-focused TTRPGs (but not D&D), with some occasional others. Puzzles are a big part of narrative games, just not in the way they are for a video game or even some board games. The puzzles are story-based. They're about social connections, a mystery that doesn't make it obvious it is a mystery, what a character says versus what the player characters see/notice, and trying to address a problem when it seems like you just don't have the resources you need. But mostly, some sort of mystery generally delivered to the players in a way that _doesn't_ shout "this is a mystery, you should try to solve it!" In fact, I will often try to introduce the elements of the mystery (or conundrum or problem) in pieces where it feels like a very natural development in the story. This doesn't always work, sometimes players are far more clever than you expect, and sometimes you (I) fumble it a bit. But mostly it works. I just prefer to have a world that _feels_ real. And it includes things not working as intended. In fact, that's my favorite thing. I'll think up of a situation, perhaps someone with malicious intent dabbling in things they shouldn't... they _think_ they know all they need to, might even by over confident. But something goes wrong. That thing has a ripple of repercussions. Those repercussions touch the player characters in some way, bringing them into the story/mystery and wanting to solve it to get rid of whatever problem dragged them into things. While I don't always use the same pattern, it is the one I use most often because I just really like the idea of unintended consequences -- if there is a big-bad this shows that they can screw up and maybe what makes them "bad" is that they don't particularly care about who gets hurt by the repercussions of their actions OR they are too cavalier and didn't consider that they were leaving a trail of bad outcomes. But it lends itself to a fairly tidy cause-and-effect mystery to suss out. It may involve magic or the supernatural or it might not -- just depends on the sort of game I'm running. But I also like any puzzles in my games to stem from the narrative rather than be a sort of bespoke one-off that could be completely divorced from the story / setting / characters. And for it to at least touch on the bigger picture. If it's a story about someone gone missing amid a city that features vampires preying on people who _know_ vampires don't exist, then a puzzle/mystery may revolve around a lost and found or the items left behind from a person or people who have gone missing... or maybe it's buried in investigator reports concerning various instances of assault/harassment at a local club (all with the implication of a third party not detailed in the reports) or it's tied to a brownstone apartment building that may or may not be home to some sort of predator. While my focus is more on theme and of course not to stray far from the core story, I think that ties into momentum. As everything feels connected but maybe not in a way that is immediately obvious to the players, it builds tension and _hopefully_ builds interest for my players.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

oh i'd be interested to know what systems you play! I started with DnD and will always have a fondness for it because it was the beginning of the story, but now find myself preferring other systems. I like the way you describe it a lot, what's the system you like most for mystery?

The pace of your video is well done. Lots of facts, ideas and info paced rapidly without a lot of "soap opera" that other DMs soemtimes have.

This is absolutely genius thank you so much. I really want to try the sleeping room and have my players close their eyes before using a wireless speaker and my phone hidden around the room so that they actually hear crying, mumbling, singing from different spots around them

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

Omg I love that idea! If that's okay, I'm totally gonna steal it next time I run that puzzle haha

@tardigradumb

Жыл бұрын

@@corkboardsandcuriosities ahahaha that's so flattering, of course you can use it! It's only fair, best of luck and let me know how it went ♥

Love your content and your work as a game designer so far. Can't wait for more!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

thank youuuuu, work got in the way haha but i'm writing the next one and super pumped that people are liking this so far

I am so glad that youtube decided to recommend this banger of a video to me! you're approach to puzzles is so fresh and invegorating, honestly as a DM I was starting to feel a little bit of burn out cause things were starting to feel stale, but after watching this video my mind is buzzing with ideas!!! You're approach to puzzles as 'story first' and the quality of your writing and ideas reminds me a lot of Dael Kingsmill over at Monarch Factory (which is a great channel if you haven't seen it) you got yourself a new subscriber I cannot wait for the next video!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

aaaah this makes me so happy! I'm so glad this gave you some fun ideas! And yes, I do know of her channel and absolutely love her content!!! and thank you for the encouraging words

Just came across your channel and was shocked to see how new it was. You have some amazing ideas and I've subscribed as I can't wait to see what else you share with us.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

thank you so much 😄 yeah haha, still very new and figuring it out, but people have been so nice and i'm super happy

I am borrowing this ideas and using this tips to make my own, Thank you very much, this is amazingly helpful (and i love both of the examples provided). Also for what's worth, i have done some simpler puzzles before, I usually run games on maps (both irl and online) so I like doing visual puzzles my players can understand more easily and riddles. Ex:An abandoned mansion which was meant to be a trial for the owner descendants, after unlocking the passage to the next floor they see a snake head on drawin on the floor, but beyond that it is dark. Should the players shed light on it, they will notice that the floor beyond that is of 2 colors, revealing the snake body, but if they try to progress using dark vision, the 2 colors are purposely chosen so that when seen through dark vision, they look as the same tone of grey. There is a small text written on the side using the same trick: "for tricks and and lies i shall be your guide for following my trail you shall abide wether you follor or not is up to yourself for in the end, i may be a trick myself" should the party walk only stepping on the snake's body, they will be safe from harm, but if they don't there will be traps and obstacles that will activate, making it harder to progress. The trick being that the tip of the tail of the snake will also be a trap, for it was a trick in the end.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

ooooh I love this if that's okay i'm totally gonna use it in a game haha

@Fernando_Cabanillas

Жыл бұрын

@@corkboardsandcuriosities by all means, go ahead, all i ask in return is that you keep doing amazing vids :D

Excellent work! You have a new subscriber here. ;)

Draw a Moon reminds me a lot of a party drinking game we played back in my teen years called "Going to the Beach". One person would be the Beach Master who knew the rules of the game. Then we'd go in a circle and the beach master would ask the player "Player Name, you're going to the beach, name something you are bringing with you?" and the beach master would tell them whether or not it was allowed. Fail and drink. The key is to have at least one other player understand the rules. The solution? You can only bring things that start with the same letter as your name starts with.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

oh I know a similar game! it was with going to a picnic, or going to a party, I could also really see this as a lil minigame puzzle. Someone mentioned in the comments using drinking games, and so the first idea that came to my mind with "i'm going to the beach and taking ___" is a dnd tavern contest where each fail earns them an ale, and gets them dangerously closer to the poisoned condition... And to losing the respect of whatever person they were trying to impress

Excellent video! Very entertaining, and gave me some ideas for the heist mission I'm currently planing.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

oh wow, fun timing, just last night i was jotting down some notes for a heist video haha, i'm going to take this as a sign to keep going! and thank you so much for the encouraging words! i'm happy that you like these ideas!

Thanks ! I've been a DM for 39 years, and I am still learning (and re-learnig). Love your perspective and ideas on this !

Wow, ive never thought, that Ramona Flowers will tell me something about dnd🎉🎉

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

oh wow, for sure the first time I heard that one, but i'll def take it!!

Cool channel! Puzzles are one of the hardest things to get right in gaming. They're also one of the few things that are hard to both CREATE and EXECUTE even if you have a good one written by someone else.

There was some real gold in there. "Thank You!" (and now I can breathe fire) 🐲

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

omg you're a dragon!!!!!

Thank you almighty algorithm thats a sub..definitely stealing that sleeping room also your voice is awesome 😊

I just found your channel, and it's so refreshing and wonderful to discover another unique RPG content creator! I love the atmosphere and creepy vibe of your videos, and I think the topics you've posted about so far are very unique. I will definitely be subscribing, and I look forward to seeing your channel take off!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

awww thank you so much! The response has been so wonderful, now i'm so pumped to make more hahahaha

Absolutely excited to see where this channel goes! I loved everything in this video and enjoyed watching it. Looking forward to the next upload! Subscribing now so I can be along for the journey!

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

aaaaaaahhhfdjvsodufvjdkgbd thank you so much

I made the mistake once of using the Victorian language of flowers as a physical riddle in a game once. I am now no longer allowed to use riddles in my games. For a bit of context, my playgroup likes riddles that *we* have to figure out, not the characters. Unfortunately, I was the only person in the group who even knew about the language of flowers, so arranging a bunch of flowers as a physical sentence just lead to about an hour of confusion before I decided to come up a way for them to get past. Also, it took place in a fey "dungeon", so it made sense for it to be there in the first place.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

wooow but using the language of flowers in a campaign sounds awesome though! I did think about using it in a game a while back and then kinda forgot about it, but you're rekindling that excitement. I think there's a lot of potential for it, perhaps as part of a longer con? I haven't finished Dimension 20's a Court of Fey and Flowers yet, but I could absolutely see this being used with new words introduced little by little in this kind of campaign. Or completely different vibe but like... poisoner florists secret organisation? Perhaps a puzzle to identify the right antidote? Ways to appeal to a nature deity through an offering and the right message? However I do get that substitution ciphers (as in, a word/meaning for one symbol) can be hard to pull, I haven't yet had an idea on how to make them super entertaining, but imma try to think on it, because language of flowers is something I'd love to add to a game!

loved this video, really good advice and cool examples of physical props. but also just the room/your outfit/the visuals as a whole are really cool, love your vibe.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

can I print this comment for when I have guests over, to prove to them that "no, having a detective corkboard in your living room is NOT weird" ? Jokes aside, thank you

@alicemursteinlesbefaen666

Жыл бұрын

@@corkboardsandcuriosities haha feel free to print it, but i can't promise they'll agree just because some random person online also has slightly eclectic tastes in interior design.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

@@alicemursteinlesbefaen666 too late, that's all the validation i need

I'm about run Curse Of Strahd for my group, and I'm so happy I found this channel. I was already planning on replacing the Shambling Mound in the Death House with a demonically corrupted baby Walter Durst. And now I think I'm going to make the basement a sleeping room. I'm just worried it'll be hard topping that as we go on.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

Жыл бұрын

Oh my… I’m running curse of strahd and I hadnt even considered that… damn, that’s a good idea. I think mandymod’s take on the basement is lovely though if you’ve seen that one! Perhaps a combination of both is cool too, like using the sleeping room as a barrier into the altar room. I figured I might use that puzzle at some other point in the campaign but now my players have seen the video haha so it’s not happening

@brewdaly1873

Жыл бұрын

​@@corkboardsandcuriositiesoh my god, I just watched your Strahd as a woman video, which is absolutely amazing, and I have just decided I'm going to do that. But I just realized that these two ideas solve one of the biggest complaints I've heard about the Death House - that it feels a little disconnected from the rest of the campaign. But now they have a thematic connection, disapproving maternal figures. You're the best, I need you to stream a campaign where you DM because I would absolutely watch it.

@corkboardsandcuriosities

11 ай бұрын

@@brewdaly1873 oh i'm far too shy to stream for now! maybe one day haha, when i work up the courage!!!

Nice video! Keept it up!