Want more puzzles? DOWNLOAD the PDF and/or Order the Hardcover/Softcover Book of Wally DM's Journal of Puzzle Encounters - Available TODAY! www.drivethrurpg.com/product/317084/Wally-DMs-Journal-of-Puzzle-Encounters
Gotta love puzzles with multiple valid solutions. It rewards lateral thinking and does not penalize players who lack greater historical / rules based knowledge. Nice.
Great puzzle! I'm definitely going to add it to my next dungeon. I really appreciate how there isn't any fluff in your videos. What I mean is that, with many other channels I have to bear through a lot of irrelevant stuff to get to the meat of the video, but you're always concise and to the point!
That is one heck of a compliment. Thank you Savannah, that makes my day! I'm also very glad that you can use this puzzle in your next game! Awesome! Stay tuned! I have more puzzles and other great content coming soon! Look for some fun stuff to release in October!
Hey there wally DM! I used more of your puzzles again, and i'm commenting the results on the others too (#48, 50, 53). This one was solved quickly. They found all the designs quickly, poked the ghost with a long ranged stick, which prompted the charge, with their respons being: let's make it charge at the keyhole and problem solved. Went smooth, everybody loved it!
lol, I love that they used the "charge" solution. That is one of my favorites. Also... stay tuned... Puzzle #56, The Lost Art will release on Wed. December 11th! It will be a fun one for sure!
Yay, great explanation of the puzzle! I really like the way you've laid it out visually. I have one small addition: the PCs shouldn't be able to just kill the minotaur and get the key that way. My original version was that it just wouldn't take damage, but it would also work if the minotaur returns to being insubstantial when it "dies." (If it happens to fall face-up or face-down, I guess that would mean the key minotaur would move to the ceiling or floor!) Thanks again for using my puzzle submission! :)
Ah yes, I knew I was forgetting something, lol. Thank you for the extra information. And thank you for submitting this puzzle, I'm glad you liked the way it turned out. :) I enjoyed working with you and recording the video. I can see already that a lot of DMs are going to enjoy running this for their players!
A solution that I thought of is for one of the players to unroll a scroll or bed roll on the floor through the feet of the gaseous minotaur. Then when someone touches the key in the painting, another player can pull the scroll (and or bedroll) out of the misty minotaur, the key becomes solid and can then be used to open the door.
5th solution: beat the DM over the head with the players handbook until he gives up the solution... Seriously though, could use a minor illusion to form an image of a gaseous door minotaur or use gaseous form to take the key.
As always, you are on top of things my friend! I dig turning into gaseous form to take the key... hmmm... I might even have a potion of that around here somewhere!
Thanks for the amazing puzzle! I would definitely use this puzzle in my current campaign. By the way, I came across this puzzle from The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess a couple of months ago and used it to great success in my current campaign :D . It is called the Sacred Grove Statue Puzzle, if you get some extra time I think it's definitely worth making a video about it :) . Thanks again for all the amazing content!
Don't you know, you can used tar tar sauce to kill a Minotaur. Lol bad joke. Great video, this would make a great room for a labyrinth or maze. With that said I did have an issue with the 3 othe ways to get the door open. Issue 1~ If the gas minotaur is going to charge the door, the door is unlocked, keep in mind the key painting is moving to always be in front of the gas. Fix ~ If the gas minotaur charge and hit the key painting, gas gose through into the painting making the key drop. The key painting change to two minotaurs facing each other. Issue 2 ~ the shadow grab. Sorry but that is not possible. Fix ~ if one of the party member used gaseous form, they can fly into it and take it not aware it was touch. When turn back; key turns solid. (Side note. If they did that I might give the player a perk and a derp. Giving the player a minotaur strength and a charge attack that will end by the time they get out but there wis or int will drop and is drawn to the color red. This to will ware off.) Issue 3 ~ Oh boy.... Player press the key button and the gas key turn solid and drop to the groud. Using slide of hand or mage hand wont work, why? Mainly due to the gas would be thicc closer to the ground.(think of it as like a type of air elemental.) So no matter what the will touch the gas. Fix ~ many puzzle rooms have traps and this could be there trap. Think of it. The key drop all think"Oh that was easy" they reach to take and minotaur attacks. A surprise attack to boot. If the players thief, monk or tabxi was fast and smart, the would run, grab key and go to the door to quicky unlock it. (Then again I might make that key not go to the door at all but to a chest behind one of the other paintings. Making them have one or two ways to open the door and a reward.) Anyway those are my thoughts. You take care.
Nice! Those are some amazing thoughts and fixes! I love the Gaseous Form idea. That's crazy good! Thank you for the well thought out reply, I enjoyed reading through this... including the tar tar joke! lol. Thanks buddy!
great video. I am probably gonna use this puzzle at some point in my game. The party will have to explore a bunch of ancient dwarven fortress ruins, and this fits great. Is there a reason he is repeating himself over and over again in the video? I understand that repetition is a good way to make sure viewers understand, but he is describing the features in the room several times over in the beginning. The details of the three minotaurs are described like three times in a row.
Honestly... I'm an old man and my short term memory is toast... When I record I do several takes and most of the time I will forget if I mentioned something before. So, I mention it again. I figure better to over-demonstrate than under-demonstrate. When I edit a video, I will try to take out redundant information, but I will leave the information in if it results in the video having an "awkward flow". Also, a lot of my recordings are improvised on the fly. Yeah... sorry, I'm not a professional, but I have improved immensely in my presentations. I have whittled my "ums" and "uhs" to almost none... which was huge for me. I used to say "uh" and "umm" a lot. Watching Puzzle #52 versus Puzzle #1 you will see a world of difference.
@@WallyDM I see. Been there with the "ums" and "uhs" myself and it creeps back in whenever I have to improvise a presentation (for example in the game I am DMing). Still love the video :)
Yeah... lol, I still slip on ums and uhs when I am running a game or doing a live stream... it takes a lot of practice, for sure. Now... if only I could work on fixing my memory, lol. I'm glad you liked the video! Thank you! :)
I really like this idea. I would probably tweak it so they couldn’t dispel magic by making it a higher level spell. As a DM I hate when my players just bypass stuff by dispelling traps or puzzles. I mean, yeah it’s a solution but not a very fun one imo. 🤣
So, I tried it last night on my group. There were four players and me, an inexperienced DM. They were hooked to go on an adventure, but they were sort of baffled when, after some traveling and fighting, they got into the chamber. This is what I felt: I felt like they were missing something. They were obviously drawn to it, it was the only thing in the room, but they looked at each other's faces wondering "what now?" I even wrote a short poem hinting that they should "reunite" the minotaurs, but still, the only sort of interaction they could think of was literally walking through the minotaur. They eventually opened the door, but they didn´t even realize that it was because the minotaur was facing in that direction. I think the puzzle is great and it has great potential, but what advice extra would you give beginners like me when they try to bring puzzles to the table? Thanks a lot! :)
Guille Fabaz Sorry to hear that your players were confused! Possibly this is the sort of puzzle that works best for experienced players who are used to puzzles. I did have an idea that some of the "extra" minotaurs painted on the walls might be able to speak and offer clues if the group was stumped.
@@jayoungr Thanks for writing back! I could see something like this happening, so I even inscribed a little poem on the walls of a previous hall hinting that things that should be together mustn't be separated. I think they were expecting to hack and slash something and get on with it. Next time I include a puzzle, I will make sure they know they are expected to use their brains rather than their swords!
@@guillefabaz Hopefully, now that your players have met with one puzzle, they will know that puzzles can happen in the future, and they'll be ready next time. Do any of them play video games? A lot of games have puzzles similar to the ones on this channel--in fact, Wally has even adapted some of his puzzles from video games. You can also talk with the players in between games and explain that you're including puzzles in the game. (And maybe ask if they like that sort of thing, because not all players do.) Also, next time you put a puzzle in your game, I suggest making it an easy one, and/or one with detailed instructions, and/or one that has some clues as to whether they're doing it right. Maybe something like Wally's "Three-Card Draw" (puzzle #37) or "Facebook Fruit Puzzle" (#28).
@@jayoungr Oh sure they play videogames! I will keep trying to spice RPG night with a puzzle here and there... But when I do, I will make sure there is enough combat that night to keep them satisfied in that regard. Thanks again!
Hi there Guille! I'm sorry to hear that the puzzle didn't work as well in your game... No worries, don't give up, your players will figure them out sooner or later. :) I am thinking about doing a video that might help give DMs an idea on how to "progress the puzzle along" if their players become stuck... My best advice is to allow your players to make Wisdom (Perception) rolls to notice things or Intelligence (Investigation) to see how things might work. For example, after the first round of combat with the Minotaur, allow them to make a Perception WIS check to see if they notice the Painted Minotaur moving around the room... if they do, tell them: "Your character notices that the painted Minotaur has moved from it's original position to a new position along another wall." Another roll could yield "Your character notices that the painted minotaur with the key seems to always be facing the insubstantial Minotaur. Or perhaps, guiding to the other solution, "Taking a closer look at the Minotaur painting with a key... roll a Perception check" 15. Okay, with your 15, you notice that the Key portion of the painting is slightly raised about 1/2 inch from the wall." (Allowing them to press this in like a button to drop and solidify the key in the Insubstantial Minotaur. Hope this helps!!!
Actually... I have it going from most recent to the oldest... primarily because the quality on my newer ones are so much better... once you work your way backward, you'll definitely notice. With that being said, some of my classic and best puzzles are from the early days, so there is that... Hmmm. Thanks for watching! Welcome to the channel!
Want more puzzles? DOWNLOAD the PDF and/or Order the Hardcover/Softcover Book of Wally DM's Journal of Puzzle Encounters - Available TODAY! www.drivethrurpg.com/product/317084/Wally-DMs-Journal-of-Puzzle-Encounters
Gotta love puzzles with multiple valid solutions. It rewards lateral thinking and does not penalize players who lack greater historical / rules based knowledge. Nice.
I agree 100%!
Great puzzle! I'm definitely going to add it to my next dungeon.
I really appreciate how there isn't any fluff in your videos. What I mean is that, with many other channels I have to bear through a lot of irrelevant stuff to get to the meat of the video, but you're always concise and to the point!
That is one heck of a compliment. Thank you Savannah, that makes my day! I'm also very glad that you can use this puzzle in your next game! Awesome!
Stay tuned! I have more puzzles and other great content coming soon! Look for some fun stuff to release in October!
Hey there wally DM! I used more of your puzzles again, and i'm commenting the results on the others too (#48, 50, 53).
This one was solved quickly. They found all the designs quickly, poked the ghost with a long ranged stick, which prompted the charge, with their respons being: let's make it charge at the keyhole and problem solved. Went smooth, everybody loved it!
lol, I love that they used the "charge" solution. That is one of my favorites. Also... stay tuned... Puzzle #56, The Lost Art will release on Wed. December 11th! It will be a fun one for sure!
Great news! I'm so glad your group liked it! :-)
My party wound up eventually coming up with the first solution to this puzzle when we had to solve it. It was rather enjoyable
Nice! Glad the party was able to solve this... and... glad you enjoyed it. :-)
Yay, great explanation of the puzzle! I really like the way you've laid it out visually. I have one small addition: the PCs shouldn't be able to just kill the minotaur and get the key that way. My original version was that it just wouldn't take damage, but it would also work if the minotaur returns to being insubstantial when it "dies." (If it happens to fall face-up or face-down, I guess that would mean the key minotaur would move to the ceiling or floor!) Thanks again for using my puzzle submission! :)
Ah yes, I knew I was forgetting something, lol. Thank you for the extra information. And thank you for submitting this puzzle, I'm glad you liked the way it turned out. :) I enjoyed working with you and recording the video. I can see already that a lot of DMs are going to enjoy running this for their players!
Great video as usual. I like the multiple solutions to the puzzle and that you have worked with someone else with the development of the puzzle.
Thank you, my friend! This was a lot of fun, I'm glad you liked it! :)
A solution that I thought of is for one of the players to unroll a scroll or bed roll on the floor through the feet of the gaseous minotaur. Then when someone touches the key in the painting, another player can pull the scroll (and or bedroll) out of the misty minotaur, the key becomes solid and can then be used to open the door.
Haha! Yes... That's a great idea! Almost seems like a trick of a mechanic or something who may drop tools, nuts or bolts. Well done!
5th solution: beat the DM over the head with the players handbook until he gives up the solution...
Seriously though, could use a minor illusion to form an image of a gaseous door minotaur or use gaseous form to take the key.
As always, you are on top of things my friend! I dig turning into gaseous form to take the key... hmmm... I might even have a potion of that around here somewhere!
This is perfect for this weekend's session. I will look for an opportunity to run it and let you know how it went. Thank you for making these.
No problem at all Devin! I'm glad you are enjoying the videos! :)
Please do report back on how it went!
I'm going to use this. I might not use minotaurs but the pairs of painting thing is cool.
Awesome! Glad you were able to get some possible inspiration from this. Thanx for the great comment!
Awesome! Thank you for this!!
You are welcome! Glad this is something you can use... and thank you for checking out my little RUclips channel!
cool puzzle, thanks for sharing👍
And... thanx for watching! :)
Thanks for the amazing puzzle! I would definitely use this puzzle in my current campaign. By the way, I came across this puzzle from The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess a couple of months ago and used it to great success in my current campaign :D . It is called the Sacred Grove Statue Puzzle, if you get some extra time I think it's definitely worth making a video about it :) . Thanks again for all the amazing content!
Glad you enjoyed the Minotaur puzzle! And you know I'm headed to you tube right now to look up the Sacred Grove Statue. Thanx for the hot tip!!!
Don't you know, you can used tar tar sauce to kill a Minotaur. Lol bad joke.
Great video, this would make a great room for a labyrinth or maze.
With that said I did have an issue with the 3 othe ways to get the door open.
Issue 1~ If the gas minotaur is going to charge the door, the door is unlocked, keep in mind the key painting is moving to always be in front of the gas.
Fix ~ If the gas minotaur charge and hit the key painting, gas gose through into the painting making the key drop. The key painting change to two minotaurs facing each other.
Issue 2 ~ the shadow grab. Sorry but that is not possible.
Fix ~ if one of the party member used gaseous form, they can fly into it and take it not aware it was touch. When turn back; key turns solid. (Side note. If they did that I might give the player a perk and a derp. Giving the player a minotaur strength and a charge attack that will end by the time they get out but there wis or int will drop and is drawn to the color red. This to will ware off.)
Issue 3 ~ Oh boy.... Player press the key button and the gas key turn solid and drop to the groud. Using slide of hand or mage hand wont work, why? Mainly due to the gas would be thicc closer to the ground.(think of it as like a type of air elemental.) So no matter what the will touch the gas.
Fix ~ many puzzle rooms have traps and this could be there trap. Think of it. The key drop all think"Oh that was easy" they reach to take and minotaur attacks. A surprise attack to boot.
If the players thief, monk or tabxi was fast and smart, the would run, grab key and go to the door to quicky unlock it.
(Then again I might make that key not go to the door at all but to a chest behind one of the other paintings. Making them have one or two ways to open the door and a reward.)
Anyway those are my thoughts.
You take care.
Nice! Those are some amazing thoughts and fixes! I love the Gaseous Form idea. That's crazy good! Thank you for the well thought out reply, I enjoyed reading through this... including the tar tar joke! lol. Thanks buddy!
@@WallyDM lol thanks, though not many will understand where the tar tar sauce joke came from.
@@lainpowers8146 I'll admit... I googled the reference, lol
Such a wholesome channel, I fell in love with your content instantly! Keep it up!!!
What a great comment! Thank you so much! Feel free to reach out anytime... and... welcome to the channel! :)
Caramba!!! Que quebra-cabeça impressionante e maravilhoso!
This is great! Another puzzle to drop on my players =)
Awww yeah!
Very cool!
Thank you AJ!
great video. I am probably gonna use this puzzle at some point in my game. The party will have to explore a bunch of ancient dwarven fortress ruins, and this fits great.
Is there a reason he is repeating himself over and over again in the video? I understand that repetition is a good way to make sure viewers understand, but he is describing the features in the room several times over in the beginning. The details of the three minotaurs are described like three times in a row.
Honestly... I'm an old man and my short term memory is toast... When I record I do several takes and most of the time I will forget if I mentioned something before. So, I mention it again. I figure better to over-demonstrate than under-demonstrate. When I edit a video, I will try to take out redundant information, but I will leave the information in if it results in the video having an "awkward flow". Also, a lot of my recordings are improvised on the fly. Yeah... sorry, I'm not a professional, but I have improved immensely in my presentations. I have whittled my "ums" and "uhs" to almost none... which was huge for me. I used to say "uh" and "umm" a lot. Watching Puzzle #52 versus Puzzle #1 you will see a world of difference.
@@WallyDM I see. Been there with the "ums" and "uhs" myself and it creeps back in whenever I have to improvise a presentation (for example in the game I am DMing).
Still love the video :)
Yeah... lol, I still slip on ums and uhs when I am running a game or doing a live stream... it takes a lot of practice, for sure. Now... if only I could work on fixing my memory, lol. I'm glad you liked the video! Thank you! :)
I really like this idea. I would probably tweak it so they couldn’t dispel magic by making it a higher level spell. As a DM I hate when my players just bypass stuff by dispelling traps or puzzles. I mean, yeah it’s a solution but not a very fun one imo. 🤣
True, true... But, can they dispel the magic of a 354th level wizard? lol!
So, I tried it last night on my group. There were four players and me, an inexperienced DM. They were hooked to go on an adventure, but they were sort of baffled when, after some traveling and fighting, they got into the chamber. This is what I felt: I felt like they were missing something. They were obviously drawn to it, it was the only thing in the room, but they looked at each other's faces wondering "what now?" I even wrote a short poem hinting that they should "reunite" the minotaurs, but still, the only sort of interaction they could think of was literally walking through the minotaur. They eventually opened the door, but they didn´t even realize that it was because the minotaur was facing in that direction. I think the puzzle is great and it has great potential, but what advice extra would you give beginners like me when they try to bring puzzles to the table? Thanks a lot! :)
Guille Fabaz Sorry to hear that your players were confused! Possibly this is the sort of puzzle that works best for experienced players who are used to puzzles. I did have an idea that some of the "extra" minotaurs painted on the walls might be able to speak and offer clues if the group was stumped.
@@jayoungr Thanks for writing back! I could see something like this happening, so I even inscribed a little poem on the walls of a previous hall hinting that things that should be together mustn't be separated. I think they were expecting to hack and slash something and get on with it. Next time I include a puzzle, I will make sure they know they are expected to use their brains rather than their swords!
@@guillefabaz Hopefully, now that your players have met with one puzzle, they will know that puzzles can happen in the future, and they'll be ready next time. Do any of them play video games? A lot of games have puzzles similar to the ones on this channel--in fact, Wally has even adapted some of his puzzles from video games. You can also talk with the players in between games and explain that you're including puzzles in the game. (And maybe ask if they like that sort of thing, because not all players do.) Also, next time you put a puzzle in your game, I suggest making it an easy one, and/or one with detailed instructions, and/or one that has some clues as to whether they're doing it right. Maybe something like Wally's "Three-Card Draw" (puzzle #37) or "Facebook Fruit Puzzle" (#28).
@@jayoungr Oh sure they play videogames! I will keep trying to spice RPG night with a puzzle here and there... But when I do, I will make sure there is enough combat that night to keep them satisfied in that regard. Thanks again!
Hi there Guille! I'm sorry to hear that the puzzle didn't work as well in your game... No worries, don't give up, your players will figure them out sooner or later. :) I am thinking about doing a video that might help give DMs an idea on how to "progress the puzzle along" if their players become stuck... My best advice is to allow your players to make Wisdom (Perception) rolls to notice things or Intelligence (Investigation) to see how things might work. For example, after the first round of combat with the Minotaur, allow them to make a Perception WIS check to see if they notice the Painted Minotaur moving around the room... if they do, tell them: "Your character notices that the painted Minotaur has moved from it's original position to a new position along another wall." Another roll could yield "Your character notices that the painted minotaur with the key seems to always be facing the insubstantial Minotaur.
Or perhaps, guiding to the other solution, "Taking a closer look at the Minotaur painting with a key... roll a Perception check" 15. Okay, with your 15, you notice that the Key portion of the painting is slightly raised about 1/2 inch from the wall." (Allowing them to press this in like a button to drop and solidify the key in the Insubstantial Minotaur.
Hope this helps!!!
354th level..... bruh I’d like to see the level up stats 😂
100hp
@@rhysjonsmusic 10000 HP. :)
lol. Absolutely. But, let's not forget 354th Level Wizard and 1 Level of Rogue. Just because. :)
you should make your @t playlist backwards because it currently is playing backwards in time.
Actually... I have it going from most recent to the oldest... primarily because the quality on my newer ones are so much better... once you work your way backward, you'll definitely notice.
With that being said, some of my classic and best puzzles are from the early days, so there is that...
Hmmm. Thanks for watching! Welcome to the channel!