Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #11 – “Building Bridges”
August 4, 2017
This D&D party looks like they could use a team-building retreat. Say no more! This Out of the Box encounter is better than a trust fall for the party.
Introduction
Have you ever needed an icebreaker encounter for either a new group, or maybe introduce a new D&D player to the concept of roleplaying without challenging their untested knowledge of any rules?
I have. Often new players are uncomfortable with the concept of roleplaying, especially in front of established or experienced players.
A way to get around this is to create an opportunity where the success of the party is tied less to die rolls and more to player actions or choices. When they feel there’s less weight behind a new character’s (likely) less powerful abilities and more behind player choice, there’s a chance for confidence to build.
“Building Bridges” is one such chance, and it’s done in a cooperative manner. It’s a simple puzzle, but a necessary one. It’s designed around the social skills of the players as well as the characters. This will ease the transition from player to character for some newer D&D players and begin the journey into roleplaying.
Environment
Wilderness/A Bridge
Level
Any
Description
This looks like the perfect location for D&D players to build some bridges. [“Broken Bridge” art by Satoruwada from deviantart.com]
However, there’s a problem in this puzzle encounter. The main body of the bridge is broken into pieces. The pieces of the bridge itself are large, and the number of pieces that need to be reassembled are exactly the same as the number of players at the table.
A statue sits at the entry of either end of the bridge. The statue is of a figure holding a musical instrument (Dungeon Master’s choice) and that appears to be singing or laughing. The same statue exists on both sides of the impasse.
A small brass plaque is affixed to the base of both of the statues. The plaque reads as follows:
“To build a bridge between two sides, make the other smile with pride.”
This is obviously a riddle, and the solution, though simple, may take a while to arrive at. The solution to both the puzzle and the bridge is the same. For each player that sings, tells a joke, recites poetry, tells a short tale, or other social interaction of value, one piece of the bridge will rise and lock into place.
Each player can only raise one piece each, but they can assist another player with song, clapping, etc. to allow for another piece to rise. A good rule of thumb for this is the reaction of the table. If a joke, song, or story gets any other player at the table to smile (DM included), that player’s piece of the bridge will rise.
A new player might even wish to talk about their backstory or go into detail about their Traits, Ideals, Bonds or Flaws. All are perfectly acceptable, and allow for great character building as well as an introduction to the roleplaying aspect of D&D.
To arrive at this social interaction, I suspect some players more involved in the mechanics or problem solving aspects of D&D may utilize spells or skills to help in the solution to the puzzle. There’s no reason a DM should disallow this.
It is perfectly feasible to allow an Intelligence (History) check to know about the lore surrounding such a bridge, or for a magical character like a Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Bard to make an Intelligence (Arcana) check to see if there’s a magical effect in play. A DC 14 should suffice for either check.
A detect magic spell cast on the bridge will reveal transmutation magic in play. Higher level spells like legend lore might reveal the exact nature of the bridge, although such a high level spell may not be used in this case when characters of that level have many ways to bypass or fly over a bridge such as this.
There is no specific order the pieces need to be raised to work, and the order in which they raise and lock into place is up to the DM in question. Once the bridge has been crossed by the players, the pieces tumble back where they were previous to the solution again, requiring the characters to repeat the performance again to cross the bridge in the opposite direction.
I would suggest the players be encouraged to ham it up. The point is to entertain everyone at the table as well as solve the puzzle. This is not, however, a competition. Not everyone is as witty as the others, so alternatives in storytelling should be available. Stage fright takes us all at some time or another. Be aware of this and judge accordingly. It’s my bet that such encounters will become easier over time.
This is also a good choice for an encounter when things have been particularly heavy. There may have been the death of a treasured player character, NPC, or pet. This can then be an opportunity to lighten the mood as well as create collaborative problem solving.
Monsters
None
Treasure
Laughter
Complications
The only complication that might arise from such an encounter might be frustration. Players who are at their wits end after a long day might be less likely to have patience for such an encounter or will be stymied by the simplest of puzzles. We’ve all been there.
In such cases, feel free to lower DCs on appropriate skill checks regarding the puzzle, or have otherworldly help like familiars give hints as to the nature of such a magical bridge.
Then again, knowing my own players, they might just try to build a rope bridge between the two statues and cross that way. The best laid plans of mice and men…
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