Game Master’s Handbook
What is Riddle Rooms #3?
Riddle Rooms #3 is a role-playing source book that can be used to enhance any campaign. Each encounter in Riddle Rooms #3 contains a riddle, puzzle or challenge that your players must overcome in order to solve the encounter. Because the obstacles presented in these encounters require thinking and problem solving, characters of any ability or skill level will be equally challenged.
Past, Present and Future is the third in the Riddle Rooms series. The encounters here are designed to be used in fantasy, modern day, and futuristic role playing settings. Some encounters are specific to a time period or setting, many can be used in multiple settings. If you’re looking for more encounters in a dungeon setting, you will find them in Riddle Rooms #1 - Dungeon Dilemmas. If you’d like additional wilderness/outdoor settings, check out Riddle Rooms #2 - Wilderness Puzzles & Perils.
Components
- Game Master’s Handbook . This contains all the information you, the Game Master, need to know. Each Riddle Room is described along with its solution.
- Handouts . These sheets show your players the encounter. Give these to your players when they reach a place in your adventure where you’ve put a Riddle Room. The Handouts are bound into the Game Master’s Handbook. Remove them by tearing along the perforations. Some encounters require more than one sheet – this is noted in the Game Master’s Information for those encounters. Some of the Handouts need to be cut before being used. Feel free to photocopy any Handout pages.
- 4 Bonus Puzzles. These are number, logic and sequence puzzles that are handy for alarm shutoffs, pass-codes, and safe combinations.
How to Use Riddle Rooms in Your Game
Riddle Rooms will fit into any adventure and any gaming system. You can place a Riddle Room encounter almost anywhere. When your players come to an encounter, give them the corresponding Handout sheets. As the party tries to solve the puzzle, refer to the Game Master’s Information for all the details.
The Game Master’s Information explains how each encounter should be solved. Every encounter contains enough information for even the weakest party to succeed. No special abilities or spells are required and you may choose to have magic not work in some places to encourage your players to triumph with their wits, not by brute force.
In the top left corner of each encounter’s page in the Handbook are one or more symbols. These symbols make it easy for you to see which settings this encounter is designed for.
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Past: These encounters contain common fantasy elements like magic and monsters.
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Present: These encounters contain technology appropriate to modern day settings.
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Future: These encounters contain futuristic and science fiction elements like unexplained technologies and alien creatures.
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The first part of each encounter contains a description of what the players see. You may choose to read this to the party or let them work solely from the Handouts. Encounters that are designed for multiple settings (past, present and future) may have multiple descriptions. Find the appropriate symbol for your campaign setting (e.g., future) and read that description.
The next section is the Game Master’s Information. This tells you how the encounter is to be solved and what happens if the players fall for any of the encounter’s traps.
In encounters where the players may have a fight or spring a trap, there are two types of damage:
Minor A player should be able to take Minor damage up to ten times without dying
Moderate A player should be able to take Moderate damage no more than three or four times
If our description of a trap or monster disagrees with your setting or system, go ahead and change it.
In case your players get stuck on a riddle or puzzle, we'll provide you with one or more hints you can use. None of these hints are "giveaways", but they should help give your players a nudge in the right direction.
Remember –Riddle Rooms are here for you to put into your adventure! Feel free to change the contents however you like to fit into your role-playing system and campaign. Have fun!
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