Credits
Writing, Page Layouts: Steve "Jaspor" Orr Writing: Bill Putrino Editing: Matthew "Regitnui" Booth Maps: Christian Petermann, Bill Putrino Stain Images and Blending Guide: AeronDrake & QalarValar Layout Tool: GM Binder Map Tools: Arkenforge, Ye Old Map Maker All other images courtesy the DMs Guild Resources. Version 1.0 - June 4, 2019 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. All other original material in this work is copyright 2019 by Steven Orr, Bill Putrino, and Christian Petermann and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
Introduction
Adventurers will find themselves tested in many ways during their careers seeking fame, fortune, justice, and truth. Some of these tests will challenge their strength, agility, spellcasting knowledge, and combat skills. Other encounters will require diplomacy, conversation, observation skills, and social interaction. A rare challenge presents elements of both and requires deeper thinking and analysis. Puzzles meant to guard treasure and secrets present a unique challenge to characters and players. While these puzzles may be designed to prevent intruders from entering places where they are not welcome, they also suggest a worthy reward lies on the other side.
Mirror, Mirror is a free sample from Puzzles, Predicaments, and Perplexities, a collection of ten original puzzles for your Dungeon & Dragons 5th Edition campaign. These encounters are designed to be inserted into your adventures at any point with minimal preparation needed. Each puzzle is presented with a description of how it works, its solution, and several hints that can be provided to the players if they are having trouble solving it. The hints are designed in a way to direct the players towards the solution without giving away the complete answer directly. The full solution should not be revealed to the players until all the hints have been exhausted and it has become apparent the puzzle will not be solved. It is our hope this will be a rare occurrence, as the answers to unlock the solutions should become evident by slowly revealing more about each puzzle using the provided clues.
Scaling The Puzzle Difficulty
The puzzles, as presented, are intended for Tier 1 (levels 1-4) characters. However, they are easily adaptable for all levels. Some simple adjustments can be made to scale the difficulty up for higher level characters.
Adjusting the DC for related skill checks is the most convenient method for changing the difficulty of a puzzle. The recommendation would be to increase the DC by 2 points for each Tier over 1. For example, a check that is described here as requiring a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check would become a DC 15 for Tier 2 (levels 5-10) characters, DC 17 for Tier 3 (levels 11-16) characters, and DC 19 for Tier 4 (levels 17+) characters. Keep in mind that, ultimately, the players should succeed in solving the puzzle. It should be challenging, but not impossible. Adjusting the DC of the associated skill checks is one way to tune the difficulty of the challenge.
The puzzles included can also be comprised of a trap component to punish characters for attempting incorrect solutions. These traps are meant to increase the sense of danger and urgency around finding the proper solution to the puzzle. The inclusion or exclusion of these traps also provide a technique for adjusting the difficulty of the puzzles.
For lower-level characters or newer players, the puzzle itself may provide enough of a challenge without the extra threat of a fireball landing on their heads if they press the wrong button. For higher-level characters or experienced players, that threat can transform a tedious exercise in pattern identification into a potentially deadly encounter. Several of the puzzles have a sidebar entitled Raise The Stakes that includes optional additions to make the encounter more difficult or dangerous. Appendix A includes a table with suggested traps that can be scaled to match the level of the party.
Opening Doors and More
By their very nature, these puzzles are constructed as mandatory obstacles for the adventurers to overcome by finding the correct solution. For many of these puzzles, that is represented by a locked door that can only be opened by solving the puzzle. While a locked door may be the most common and logical choice as a barricade forcing the party to engage with the puzzle, a variety of options can be substituted as best suits your particular campaign or adventure. Some other options for successfully solving a puzzle include:
- Opening a locked chest.
- Uncovering a hidden message.
- Transporting the party to an alternate plane.
- Unlocking the shackles of a chained prisoner.
- Closing a magical portal.
- Revealing an invisible artifact.
There is also an opportunity to chain together several of the puzzles so that they connect with one another. For example, the two keys needed for the Triangle Lock can be found in a closed chest that can only be opened by solving Colors and Clatter and behind a door guarded by Sand Sculptures.
Making the Puzzles Your Own
While the puzzles as presented here are suitable for plugging right into any adventure with no need to change them, DMs are encouraged to adjust and customize the puzzles to better fit their own game. There are numerous ways to customize each puzzle. This can include making the puzzles more personal to your group of adventurers, adjusting the puzzle descriptions to fit the setting of your dungeon, changing the symbols or languages involved to match your game world, or involving known NPCs as part of the solution. The puzzles presented provide the frameworks for logical and solvable problems and solutions that can be shaped and personalized to fit your adventure.
Mirror, Mirror
The party will have to be observant and precise to solve this puzzle, as it depends on noticing things that they might not expect, and then matching those things exactly in order to solve it.
The Puzzle
This puzzle can be put into any situation where the party is in a setting that has multiple rooms. The reward for solving this puzzle is meant to be a specific item the group is trying to obtain. This could be a magic item, special weapon, required key, or anything else that would relate to your campaign. Solving this puzzle will award the party the item they seek. The party walks into an ordinary room. When they enter the room, read or summarize the following:
The furnishings within the room can be customized by the DM to match the theme of the location, though the fireplace and mirror should always be present. The room reflected in the mirror is an almost exact mirror image of the real room, with some notable differences. The room in the mirror shows a few extra items placed in different locations within the room. These items are not present in the physical room the party is standing in; they are only visible within the reflection. On the fireplace mantel in the mirrored room sits the item the party is looking for.
Characters searching the room in general will notice these phantom items in the reflection with a successful DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check. A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check will reveal that the item they are looking for is resting on the fireplace mantel within the reflection. Characters who specifically state they want to look at the reflection in the mirror will notice the extra items without requiring a skill check. See Appendix F for two different maps for use with this puzzle. In the example scenario for this puzzle, the items seen within the reflection are as follows:
- On a small square side table to the left sits a candle made of black wax, its flame burning steadily, but the candle never getting smaller.
- On a large, round table in the middle of the room rests a glass vial of red liquid.
- On the floor, propped up against a wooden chair, is a metal shield.
- Resting on the seat of a wooden stool is a gnarled wand.
- The item the characters seek, a silver key with a skull handle, sits atop the fireplace mantel.
The items can be customized to be random objects the players might come across within their travels, or they can be items that would have more personal meaning to the characters. The table below provides several example items that can be used based on the classes of the characters in the party.
| Class | Items |
|---|---|
| Barbarian | two-handed axe bear fur cloak drinking horn |
| Bard | musical instrument flamboyant scarf costume mask |
| Cleric | holy symbol prayer beads crystal vial of clear liquid |
| Druid | specifically colored leaf deer antlers shillelagh |
| Fighter | two-handed sword plate mail helmet pair of spiked gauntlets |
| Monk | quarterstaff loose-fitting vest pair of sandals |
| Paladin | shield with a holy symbol on it plate mail gauntlet golden chalice |
| Ranger | wooden longbow quiver full of arrows long brown cape |
| Rogue | stack of 10 gold coins set of lockpicks black hood |
| Sorcerer | dragon scale magic staff crystal ball |
| Warlock | summoned demon or imp vial of blood length of metal chain |
| Wizard | magic wand spell book pointy wizard’s hat |
The Solution
In order to solve this puzzle, the party needs to make the actual room match what they see in the reflection. The group will need to gather up these items and place them in the exact same spots in the real room as they appear in the mirrored room. The characters will have to look closely as the mirror as they place the items to make sure the positioning and angle match precisely. They should only see one instance of the item when they look at the reflection, so the overlap must be perfect. Once all the items have been placed properly, a burst of light flashes from the mirror. At that point, the item they are seeking will disappear from the reflection and will appear on the mantel in the real room.
Of course, in order to place the items in the proper positions, the party will have to possess those items. They may already own some of the items. They may have to locate others. Those items could be found within their current location, or they might have to travel elsewhere to purchase or discover the items. This puzzle can be used as a central goal within an adventure that spans multiple sessions, or it can be solved within a single session if the items are easily accessible.
Tips and Hints
If the group has trouble figuring out this puzzle, consider using the following hints to guide them towards the expected solution:
- For parties that are completely stumped about what to do, a successful DC 11 Intelligence check gives them the idea of trying to create the reflected scene within their actual room.
- If the group is having trouble locating one of the required items, give them a random encounter of enemies to fight, and have the item available to be looted from the corpses once they’ve defeated the enemies.
- A party that leaves this room without noticing the items within the mirror should be redirected here. This can be done by an NPC or a note they find that says something along the lines of, “Beware of that mirror, it has more power than it seems.”
- For groups unsure about placing items in the same
place as their reflections, a signal can be given
when one of the items is properly placed:
“As you place the vial on the table, you notice it
glow briefly before the aura fades away. You get
the feeling this is where it belongs.”
Appendix: Maps
A Challenge
Of Wits
And Reason
Adventurers need much more than just brute force, magical powers, and nimble moves in order to survive the dangers that await them. A sharp mind is just as important as a sharp sword. When faced with a challenging puzzle, finding the solution can be the difference between victory and defeat.
Mirror, Mirror is a free sample puzzle from Puzzles, Predicaments, and Perplexities, a collection of logic puzzles, brain teasers, and encoded sequences intended to test the problem solving and deductive reasoning of characters and players. These puzzles are designed to be easily placed into any adventure with no additional work, yet also provide guidance on how Dungeon Masters can customize the details to best fit into their own campaigns.
A Dungeons & Dragons supplement for
adventures of all levels and types
to be used by Dungeon Masters.
