DM Advice.

A large padlock with pictograms on it, and a riddle in elven, dwarven, or sylvan that implies the solution.

Teaches the player that learning languages is useful, and that the rogue can just bypass most of it via perception and disable device.

I really like ones that can be solved with a 10' Pole.

A corridor with a huge illusory chasm in the middle. Players that probe the illusion can tell that there is still solid ground beneath it.

>>51118997
The room has any sort of a valuable thing on the pedestal in the center of it. Once the players grab it, poisonous spikes show up in the ceiling which starts to come down, the doors are shut and the only spot where it seems to be safe is on top of the pedestal which is fairly small and unstable, so only one person can get there (maybe one person and a halfling). At a crucial point the ceiling stops moving and the part of it directly over the pedestal falls.

Teaches the players that camaraderie is a thing and no one should discard anyone's life easily just because you can always roll up a new character.

>>51118997
"to teach new players that sometimes they're better off not to engage enemies but to sneak around."

the best way to do this is to at first give them a challenge that they can just barely handle and then show them something bonkers.

they just barely scrape by in a fight with an ogre and three goblins, and then in a small separate crevasse-room in the cave, a total of four ogres and a couple of goblins are sleeping.

this means that they can #1, try to fight them and very likely get slaughtered unless they employ clever tactics, which should be rewarded #2, try to rob the sleeping ogres, creating a risk vs reward senari #3, trying to sneak past the ogres, possibly creating a dead end for themselves and having the ogres wake up, trapping them inside or #4, going back to rest and resupply, which not only would mean that the ogres would know that someone has killed on of their kin, and might lay a trap for when they come back, but they might even attack the adventurers while they are resting

>>51120883
>a small separate crevasse-room
>four ogres

It also teaches the players that verisimilitude is dead.

>>51120883
another personal favorite of mine is the two-time-trap, either where the trap is super obvious in an attempt to hide the real trap(two arrowholes, one is clearly visable and easily avoidable, putting you in the hole which actually shoots the arrows path) or where the easy solution(you shouldn't punish them for thinking, only when the thinking is shallow) or disabling the trapped lock on the door from which water is, quite forcefully, flowwing out under, promptly causing the doors to slam open(roll to be smacked by the door) and with the force of a shit-ton of water rushing the entire party getting slammed into the stone walls or floor and getting along with the tide.

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190KB, 580x375px

>>51120929
i was talking about something like #6 on this map, maybe around twice as big, when i said small i meant in comparison to the rest of the cave. but you'll have to excuse me, it's 5 in the morning so i'm not thinking completely straight, i'm sure i got loads of typos in everything aswell

Paper trap on a corpse. They read the writing, it explodes doing superficial/minor damage. Teaches them not to loot everything in sight.

Sentient Silverware that scream exactly 15 minutes after it's picked up by someone not authorized (this is targeted for loot goon rouges). Teaches them not to loot everything in sight.

An orb labeled 'Do no Touch' that creates a room paradox until it's replaced. Teaches them not to loot everything in sight.

I have a problem in my group.

I usually try to get at least one or two rooms where the quietest player will be the strongest.

Have a cleric who doesn't interact much until it's time to heal? Chuck some Undead in the encounter.
A quiet druid? Make a puzzle where his wildshape would be immensely helpful.

>>51122689
I wish my DM did this, because usually I just sit in the corner of the room, which is odd because im arguably the weirdest there. Luckily one of the other characters likes to pull me with him.

>>51122814
I've always wanted to know what drove players like you. My quiet guy tends to just like the hanging out and hearing epic stories side of the game. Recently I've been wondering if pushing him into the fray like this was a good idea? I love playing (Forever DM is a joyful curse), and I think he would too. What do you enjoy most about your settings? What if you get 'put on the spot' in the game. Suddenly you are the hero your team needs?

>>51122860
Well im usually quiet simply because i'm more shy then everyone else in the party. It could be that or like a hundred other reasons, but If I personally im in the spotlight its because of something I did. Most likely getting knocked unconscious. It works out, but I mean my character is quite battle scarred. One thing I'd imagine the quiet type would like however is a chance for them to be cunning. A puzzle that only someone who thinks like them would solve. Like if you have a very heal the weak cleric person, set up a room full of sick people and one of them has the answer to a riddle.

>>51122860
Just be careful that you dont make it apparent you are cramming him in the spot light, dont want the party being jealous of him.

>>51123009
The problem is getting the guy to go "I figured it out!" If I don't make it something so tailored to him that the other players give him a shove, he'd happily sit behind and listen.

>>51123054
I usually give everyone a (you) moment. The game is a team game, but it's nice when you also get a moment to shine. A man cursed with lycanthropy but wants to help? The Cleric can take care of it!
A few bricks missing in an otherwise closed cell? The druid could wildshape and solve it easily! It's just about making your players occasionally the answer to your puzzles.

>>51123114
I would try to tailor it not towards his character but how he thinks. Say you have a guy who thinks like an orc, real simple like. Make a complex plan like a heist that can easily be solved by going balls to the wall with it and kicking the door in because the guards never thought anyone would have the audacity to do so.

>>51123182
I'll give it a shot; his elf fighter has yet to really develop a personality. But I've been getting all my players to describe their attacks. I feel like doing that helps everyone in the game get to feel like they are writing this story.
>>I Rolled an 12+4
>>That's a hit, now roll damage.
>> 16?
>>That's enough to kill it, how does it go down?

>>51118997
You enter into the ancient crypt of the Lakers' locker rooms.

On the ground you see a slightly raised pedestal with eight tiles, arranged into a grid, with a hole which would fit one more tile.

The tiles appear to be out of order. Can YOU solve the mystery of the Spalding B-Ball Slide Puzzle?