D&D Puzzles, Top 18 Great Dungeons & Dragons Puzzle Ideas

Dungeons and Dragons, often abbreviated as D&D, is a tabletop game that was first published in 1974.

This game has fantasy and RPG elements, and it has been building its popularity ever since its first publication.

Nowadays, the new versions of Dungeons and Dragons are still being released, with the newest version being Curse of Strahd Revamped.

Aside from being released as the boxed table top game packages, Dungeons and Dragons has also been released as video games in the past.

There are also many video games that have taken the inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons, such as Neverwinter and Baldur’s Gate.

Moreover, the newest Dungeons and Dragons video game is set to be released in Fall 2020, titled Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance.

One of the best things that you can do when playing Dungeons and Dragons is to create various puzzles as the Dungeon Master (DM).

There are plenty of puzzles that you can create. You can even create these puzzles from some simple ideas.

Our List Of Best D&D Puzzles

Here are the top 18 Dungeons and Dragons puzzle ideas that can add more challenges in your game:

Which One is the Right Switch?

You are placed in a room full of switches. The switches have different colors, and each one will correspond to different effects when you push it.

As you entered the room, you are trapped with these switches, and you are forced to pick the right one in order to find your way out of the room.

Details:

Only one switch is the right switch that will open the door to get you out of the room.
Other switches are just the switches that will give you various traps when you push them.
Some switches are hidden, and they will give you some useful items when pushed.
If you can’t handle the traps after pushing the wrong switches, it will be game over for you.
It doesn’t matter if your choice is wrong as long as you can handle the traps and fight the monsters until you find the right switch.

Five Treasure Boxes

Your players are trapped in a strange room filled with magical vibes.

In this room, you find 5 treasure boxes around you.

These treasure boxes have different colors: red, green, blue, gold, and silver.

In front of you, there is a large door, and beside the door, there is a writing.

The writing says that you must choose the right treasure box in order to get the key to open the door.

Details:

The key can be found in the gold treasure box.
The gold treasure box contains the smaller diamond box inside, which needs a certain key to open.
The key to the diamond box is located in the green treasure box.
All other boxes are just mimics that you need to fight once you opened them.
Upon finally getting the diamond box opened, you can use the key to open the large door.

The Shadow Mirror – D&D Puzzles

In a large and mysterious room, there is a big mirror placed at the center of an altar.

Anyone who comes in contact with the big mirror will see their own shadow self.

However, coming into contact with the mirror is necessary in order for the players to complete the trial of this room.

Once the trial is completed, they can be free and continue their journey.

Details:

Each player in the party needs to get in contact with the big mirror.
Each player in the party needs to fight their own shadow self.
Their shadow selves will throw away everything that is feared by each player.
Once their shadows are defeated, the players will get access to the altar’s pedestal.
Once they push the switch on the pedestal, they will be transported out of the room immediately.

Lots of Treasures – D&D Puzzles

In the brightly lit and sparkling room, there are lots of treasures that the players can find.

There are 10 chests in total, and 9 of the chests contain treasures of various kinds.

These chests can give the players magic items, amulets, armors, and so on.

However, one treasure chest will give the players their worst nightmare.

Details:

In order to proceed to the next path, 5 players must open one chest of their choosing.
If they can open all chests that contain treasures, a door will be opened to them, which leads to a new path.
If one player ends up opening the wrong chest, they will be trapped in a special room that will give harder puzzles to solve.
Roll the dice and come up with the number 1-10 and open the corresponding treasure chest number.
The wrong treasure number is #6, so when the dice shows #6, the players will be transported to a dark room full of harder puzzles.

The Flooded Locked Room

The players are trapped in a room that is quite large, but it is locked immediately after they entered it.

There are 8 small waterways that are installed on the walls of the room.

Not so long after the players entered this room, the waterways started to release water at a steady pace, flooding the room and the players inside.

The only way out is the door located at the top ceiling of this room.

Details:

Each waterway has their own system to stop the water from flowing.
However, in order to get out of the room, the players need to stop the water once the room is flooded and reached near the ceiling.
The players need to swim at the same time and at the right time in order to stop the water from flowing.
Once the flows of water stopped, the players will get access to the key for the door at the ceiling; the key is located at the bottom of the room.
The key needs to be retrieved in order for them to open the ceiling door and escape from the room.

The Intensified Musical Experience

The players come into a room where there are huge musical instruments that will automatically play the melodies when the players are trying to get across the room.

The objective for the players is to reach the door across the room by stepping on the right tiles along the way.

Details:

The players will hear good melodies from the musical instruments when they step on the right tiles.
The players will hear bad and out-of-sync tunes when they step on the wrong tiles.
The bad melodies will intensify if the players keep on stepping on the wrong tiles.
The intensity of the bad music can damage the player’s health.
The puzzle will be solved when the players can reach the door across the room without losing all their health in the process.

The Horrible Storms

The players arrived in a peaceful village, and they can continue on their journey without much problem.

However, upon entering the field in that village, huge storms are starting to appear in front of them.

The storms get bigger and bigger, and they become really horrible in just a short while.

The players are faced with this deadly challenge right away.

Details:

The storms are surrounding the players from every direction, leaving them no place to hide.
The horrible storms are approaching them in high speed.
The horrible storms are destroying every village home that they come across, intensifying fears among the players.
The players are left with the choice to either try to escape or face the challenges on their ground.
It turned out that the horrible storms are just a dream experienced at the same time by all players while they are sleeping at a tent near the village.

Random Ice Shots – D&D Puzzles

Your party comes to a cave that is filled with various monsters and traps.

After taking care of most of the challenges, you have arrived at a large place with a frozen lake around you.

Across the path, you see the way out of the cave to continue your journey.

However, upon entering the path, you are greeted with the sudden challenge that you didn’t expect.

Details:

As you walk the path, random ice shots are aimed towards your party.
The random ice shots come from above your heads.
In order to avoid the random ice shots, you have to roll the dice and come up with the even numbers.
The odd numbers will give you the same numbers of ice shots that are aimed randomly at your party.
Anyone who gets hit by the ice shots will take considerable damage.

Three Large Barriers – D&D Puzzles

Your players arrived at a field that has 3 large barriers.

Each barrier has 3 doors that you can open to access each barrier.

However, from the 3 doors, there is only one door that you can open.

The other 2 doors on each barrier will instantly send your player to another dimension when you open them.

Details:

You need to open the correct 3 doors in order to traverse the field and continue your journey.
All doors have the same appearance, so you can’t guess the right door just by looking at their appearance.
The correct door for the first barrier is the middle door, for the second barrier the left door, and for the third barrier the right door.
You need to roll the dice to determine which door you need to enter.
Dice #1, #4, #7 will be the left door; dice #2, #5, #8 will be the middle door, and dice #3, #6, #9 will be the right door.

Only the Odds May Proceed

You have arrived at the strange-looking bridge that connects your current area to the next area.

Your party needs to cross the bridge in order to proceed on their journey.

However, you can’t measure how deep it is beneath the bridge.

It seems that if you fall out of the bridge, you might die instantly.

Details:

At the start of the bridge, you saw a small board that says, “Only the odds may proceed.”
The bridge consists of 33 tiles, which seem to be floating in the sky.
You need to roll the dice and only proceed when the dice shows odd numbers.
You can only get 5 odd numbers that you can use by rolling the dice; any even number must be skipped.
The total number of the 5 odd numbers that you get must exceed the number of tiles on the bridge, which is 33, in order for you to get across.

The Mysterious Countdown Timer

You are in the middle of the forest. After following the path available, you finally arrived at an open field inside the forest.

As soon as you entered the open field, suddenly the area is surrounded by some kind of invisible barriers that lock your players up together.

A pedestal appears in the middle of the field, along with the peculiar device that seems to be a countdown timer.

Details:

The only way to escape the invisible barriers is to use the countdown timer device.
The countdown timer starts at 20, and it goes all the way to 0.
Every time you press the timer, it will reset to 20.
Each countdown will shake the ground beneath you; the more it approaches 0, the more violent the ground will shake.
You can keep resetting the timer, but the only way to get out of the area is to see the countdown to 0 and survive the ground-shaking nightmare.

The Horde of Monsters

You have arrived in a place that seems to be a huge open field, where there are 100 monsters waiting for you.

Your players need to kill all the monsters before they can get across the field and continue their journey.

This is the battle that needs to be done quickly.

Details:

One monster will be added every second.
You need to roll the dice to defeat the monsters.
Each number that shows up on the dice will be the number of monsters that you will defeat.
You need to do it quickly, though, because the monsters will always keep on coming.
You will win and able to get across once all monsters are killed and eliminated.

Do You Need the Map?

You have arrived at an old village, and in order to continue your journey, you need to get out of the village gate.

As you approach the village gate, a mysterious person is offering you a map of the forest ahead.

However, in order to obtain the map, you have to give up all your items, equipment, and armors.

Will you take the map?

Details:

The right path is to take the map and give up all your items, equipment, and armors.
The forest ahead is the forest of riddles that requires you to answer 3 riddles in order to get across.
The map is actually the answers to those riddles.
If you refuse the map, you will need to go through the forest battling monsters and fiends along the way.
If you take the map, your items, equipment, and armors will be given back to you once you’ve answered all the riddles correctly.

The Red, Yellow, and Green Door

You have arrived at the strange place that seems to be similar to a labyrinth.

But, unlike a labyrinth, the place is full of doors.

You need to determine which doors to open in order to proceed on your journey.

There are many doors, but the doors will only have 3 color variations, which are red, yellow, and green.

Details:

If you open the wrong door, you will be randomly transported to different places inside the area.
The key to going out of this place is to choose yellow doors all the way through.
No matter how many paths that you find after opening the door, you need to always choose the yellow door in order to get out of the place.
If you choose other colors, you will be transported randomly to different places around this area.
Other doors will only cause you confusion.

A Large Door with Multiple Knobs

You have come across a large door that becomes an obstacle in your journey.

In order to keep on proceeding, you have to open this large door.

However, the strange thing about this door is that it has multiple knobs.

Details:

The exact number of the knobs is 20.
There is only one right knob that will open the door.
The other 19 knobs are fakes that are full of traps and monsters.
The right knob that will open the large door is the knob #12.
Roll your dice until it shows the right number; if the dice don’t show the right number, you have to keep dealing with the traps and monsters.

The Magical Fountain – D&D Puzzles

You have come to a place where there is a magical fountain at the center.

Upon arriving at this place, there are strong invisible barriers that surround your party, and you are trapped.

All your items and equipment magically disappear.

Details:

Upon inspecting the fountain, you found all your items and equipment at the bottom of the fountain.
The writing in front of the fountain said: “Let go of all your belongings to proceed or face your biggest challenge here.”
If you proceed without trying to go to the fountain to gather your stuff, there will be no threats coming your way as you try to get out of the area.
If you proceed without your stuff, all items and equipment will be brought back to you once you enter the new area.
If you choose to gather your stuff in the fountain, your way out will be filled with monsters and traps, along with one strongest monster that you have to defeat.

Which One is the Right Path?

In order to get across to the next area, you need to go through a maze that is very confusing.

At first, there is only one path that you need to follow.

But, once you’ve entered the maze, you can never go back except if you have come across to the other end.

Details:

Once you’ve entered the maze, you will always need to choose three different paths: the left, the middle, and the right.
If you choose the wrong path, you will be confused by the maze, as it is trying to keep you go in circle.
The key to get across to the other end is to always choose the right path.
Whenever you are confused, and your path is getting difficult, always choose the right path all the time, no matter where you are in the maze.
After choosing the right path for at least 12 times, you can find the way out of the maze.

The Riddle Master

You’ve entered a dungeon where there is someone that calls himself The Riddle Master.

He claims that you can only get out of the dungeon once your party answered 5 different riddles from him.

You only have 3 chances to answer each riddle correctly.

Details:

The riddles can be whatever riddles that you choose.
The answers must be prepared beforehand for all the riddles.
If the player answered the riddle incorrectly, he loses one chance.
Only 3 chances are available for each riddle.
If you’ve answered wrongly 3 times for a riddle, one character from your party must disappear.

Conclusion

These are some puzzle ideas that you can use to add more challenges to your Dungeons & Dragons game.

If you are a Dungeon Master, you can use these ideas to challenge your players and make the game even more exciting for them to play.

You can always modify these ideas and fit it to your own preferences later on.

Once you’ve made up your mind and chosen the puzzles that you want to play with the players, then you can just open the D&D game set and start playing right away.

So tell me, which one of all these D&D Puzzles is your favorite and why?